No penalty for Kevin Magnussen after his crash: Perez first to be surprised
Sergio Perez said he was surprised that Kevin Magnussen had not been penalized for his role in their heavy accident on the first lap of the Monaco Grand Prix, which caused the red flag and penalized Nico Hülkenberg's race.
The Mexican driver suffered a serious accident after contact with the Haas driver at Beau Rivage, as Magnussen tried to squeeze inside, he quickly found himself running out of space. This caused Perez to hit the barrier, causing considerable damage to his car, worsened when he collided with Hülkenberg, who was trying to avoid the Red Bull wreck.
No further action was taken by the stewards, and Magnussen felt that Perez had clearly not left any space. Perez’s opinion differed, claiming that Magnussen was wrong and should have backed off. They both blame each other.
If you look at my onboard camera, at no time do you see Kevin’s car, not even close to me, by my side, and you could see that the wall was getting closer and closer, Perez lamented.
To stay fully committed, there was only one way out, and it was either contact with my car or with the barrier.
« There simply was no room for both cars, and at some point, he had to realize that. I mean, I’ve been in that situation and often, when you’re the car behind, you just have to understand that it’s time to slow down before things get close to you. »
« I am very surprised [that the incident was not investigated] because of the damage and its dangerousness. I am really surprised. » Perez insists that the Dane should have backed off and was not entitled to space given his position on the track. He added that the incident could be considered as « dangerous driving » and estimated that Magnussen did not care about the consequences of his actions. « I think he should clearly not be there in the first place as there is only one way out. It would just be hitting the wall, either he would hit the wall, or he would hit my car. The right side of my car. »
« I am really surprised. I understand the “Let them race” from the first lap, but I think it was more of a dangerous driving to stay full throttle knowing they were going to make contact with me. At some point, I think it was dangerous driving. I don’t think he really thinks about the consequences. You sometimes find yourself in a position where you have to make a very quick decision to say, okay, there is only one way out and it will be the contact so I better step back, but he will go for the contact.
