Sergio Perez argued that Kevin Magnussen should have yielded to avoid the collision that took out both drivers on the first lap of the Monaco Grand Prix in Formula 1. Perez qualified behind the Haas drivers, but moved up in the standings after the American team was disqualified for a rear wing violation related to the DRS system. However, Perez’s attempt to recover from a surprising elimination in Q1 and secure points was thwarted early on when he collided with Magnussen at Beau Rivage. Magnussen, trying to navigate between the barrier and Perez’s car, made the Red Bull spin, collecting teammate Nico Hulkenberg in the process. Perez claimed that Magnussen had no right to expect space, as he was not alongside and should have been aware that he needed to back off. “If you watch the footage from my onboard camera, you will see that Kevin’s car was never close to mine, he wasn’t alongside,” Perez recounted. “And you could see the wall getting closer and closer, and I had to keep my foot on the accelerator. There was only one way out. There simply wasn’t enough room for both cars. At some point, he had to realize that. I’ve been in that situation many times when I’m the car behind, and you just need to recognize when it’s time to back off before things get too close.”
However, Magnussen refuted the claim that he was at fault and argued that Perez should have given him more space as they approached Massenet while going up the hill. “I believe he shouldn’t have been there in the first place, because there was only one way to avoid a collision – either hit the wall or hit my car,” Perez responded to Magnussen’s statement. “So, how can he expect me to give him space when he wasn’t even beside me, you know? There comes a point where you see the wall approaching and you just have to back off. I’ve experienced this many times before, and there’s a moment when you just have to back off.”
Perez acknowledged that he was surprised by the decision of the stewards not to investigate the incident further, especially considering that they usually are more lenient in the early laps. “I’m genuinely surprised by the extent of the damage and how dangerous it was. I’m quite surprised,” Perez admitted. “We need to ask for an explanation as to why there was no investigation, because without it, we don’t know why there was no penalty. That really surprises me. I understand the idea of letting them race on the first lap, but I believe this was a case of more dangerous driving, knowing that a collision was inevitable at some point. I think it was reckless driving.”
When asked if he suspected that Magnussen’s two penalty points, which kept him from a race ban, influenced the outcome, Perez replied: “I don’t want to get involved in that.”
