Kevin Magnussen blamed Sergio Perez for the collision between the pair which caused the Monaco Grand Prix to be red-flagged on the first lap.
Both drivers retired in the huge crash which followed, along with Magnussen’s team mate Nico Hulkenberg.Magnussen said Perez should have left him more room as the Haas driver tried to draw alongside him in the winding climb from Sainte Devote to Massenet at the start.
“In my point of view I was there and I got squeezed to the wall,” he told Sky.
“From my point of view I had a good part of my front along Perez’s rear,” he explained. “When he went to the wall, I just got pushed into the wall and made contact with him.”
Magnussen believes Perez should have left him more room at the start.
“I trusted that he was going to leave a space for me since I was there,” he said. “It’s not a corner that you’re braking into. It’s just like a little bend on the straight so you have to have a car width otherwise you leave the guy no option.
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“It’s unfortunate, it’s a lot of cost to the team, a lot of work for the guys and a missed opportunity today of course.”
Hulkenberg said he was “gutted to be out after 500 metres.”
“It’s obviously far from ideal and also both cars out. Obviously I got taken off by an incident that I wasn’t directly involved in.”
He suggested his team mate should have backed out of the move, but stopped short of blaming him for the collision.
“It’s quite narrow here going up to turn three. A big shame. Things were getting too tight there.
“I think it’s somewhat a racing incident. It looked maybe a bit optimistic from Kevin, but I don’t know, Checo could have also maybe seen him and left room. So unfortunate, obviously, the outcome.”
The Haas driver said the damage to their cars was not as significant as Perez’s. “My car didn’t have too much damage,” he said. “I didn’t see Kevin’s.
“But the Red Bull had significant damage. I think that’s a write off. On our side, I don’t know. We’ll see the damage once the cars are back.”
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Tristan
26th May 2024, 16:25
It was tricky, while Hulk says he wasn’t involved in the collision, if Mag backed out he would have fallen behind Hulk as well. The gap was there, can’t really blame Mag for going for it given his start. If Perez just gave him space they all would have kept their positions.
AlexS
26th May 2024, 17:42
If you put the nose every time the gap is there you end up in the wall or outside the track more than half time. And it will be your fault.
thegamer23
26th May 2024, 16:25
Magnussen is a dangerous driver, way too aggressive.
MichaelN
26th May 2024, 16:30
Saw this posted elsewhere as a clip.
Magnussen’s “defense” doesn’t really add up. Space for what, hanging in there on the outside going up the infamously snaking uphill stretch into a long left-hander? Come on. If this is lap 76/78 and there’s a championship on the line… fine. But this was just more reckless Magnussen driving.
Fer no.65 (@fer-no65)
26th May 2024, 16:37
He got away with penalty points. Why? because he’s on the cusp of a race ban, as we all said in this website after Miami.
Any other driver, any other situation, they’d have penalized him and given him points. That was just a criminal move, no other way to look at it. It’s fortunate they were at the back of the grid. Had that happened in the middle of the pack, Perez wasn’t surviving that.
Fer no.65 (@fer-no65)
26th May 2024, 16:38
Also I suspect Hulkenberg’s defense of Magnussen came after the team urged him to say nothing.
Tristan
26th May 2024, 16:43
I’m glad the stewards disagree with you, 3 into 1 never works, first lap too. Perez moving as he did, even if Mag did back out, opened the door for Hulk to stick it down the inside at the next corner any way.
Perez was just too slow, only has himself to blame.
Fer no.65 (@fer-no65)
26th May 2024, 19:22
Too bad if Magnussen loses a position. Why should Perez allow Magnussen a space he wasn’t entitled to have? poking his nose there, on a straight that isn’t a straight, surrounded by barriers that funnel down into Massenet.
It’s all on the guy overtaking. In this case, Magnussen.
David BR (@david-br)
26th May 2024, 17:08
@fer-no65 All fine except I don’t see how it was Magnussen’s fault. Aggressive? Yes. But it’s the first lap and the only real chance to make a pass, Perez had left a gap on the right and had no need to close it since he was under no pressure on the left (and even then there was still ample room for Hulk). Seemed to me that Perez was unsighted or miscalculated. OK, that happens too on the first lap. But his was the clumsy driving.
PMP
26th May 2024, 18:14
But where Magnussen could have made the pass if Perez gave him space? Already on the uphill, the following long lefthander or the righthander after that? In my opinion there was no opportunity and Magnussen poked his nose to a gap where there was nothing to win.
David BR (@david-br)
26th May 2024, 16:46
Perez left ample room for the Haas driver quite a lot further back and none for Magnussen right behind him and shaping to pass. How is that not Perez’s fault? Call it a first lap incident, maybe, but I don’t see why K-Mag shouldn’t push to pass through a gap that Perez closed unnecessarily.
cswilly (@cswilly)
26th May 2024, 16:53
100% PER’s mistake. He had a landing field to his left, and he decided to squeeze MAG on the right. If it was not a first-lap incident PER would have gotten a penalty.
Hemal
26th May 2024, 21:37
Why would you defend from a car that is far back? Sometimes I feel logic has left people’s minds.
MAG was on the right side closer to PER and he would have to defend. PER’s mistake was to assume MAG would drop back given the wall on the right is getting curved and MAG really did t have any way he could complete the move. The risk would even have been a collision at the next corner where MAG just kind of T bones into PER and hence the defence.
PER losing out is his loss for sure, and not remembering it was MAG should not have challenged him at the risk of losing the race and that was his fault.
But who will bell the Kat here?
faulty
26th May 2024, 17:28
100% Magnussen’s fault.
He only makes contact with Perez’s RR after he clips the barrier with his own right rear. Magnussen has lost control of his car by the time he makes contact. Yes, the space he was left was tight, but even if it had been doubled, he was already trying to correct for the sudden change of direction resulting from the bump with the wall.
Tristan
26th May 2024, 17:36
You think if Magnussen was given more space, he still would have hit the wall? Fascinating deduction.
Mr A
26th May 2024, 20:15
Yep I agree. He wasn’t out of control at all.
AlexS
26th May 2024, 17:40
Magnussen put his car nose in place where the track gets thinner, but he is driving recklessly so can’t see what would happen 1 second in the future.
Bullfrog (@bullfrog)
26th May 2024, 18:16
If Magnussen trusts you, what does that say about you?
antonio
26th May 2024, 18:44
Doesn’t leave space himself, trusts the other driver to do so. It’s Monaco, you’re in a team that might score a lucky point. It’s critical to profit from the first safety car / red flag that happens, not be the one to cause it. Honestly just give the drive to someone who will think first, then drive. Taking both cars out of the race with an avoidable collision costs the team a lot of money, as well. And why do they not take the advantage of a pit lane start after yesterday’s embarrassment, it would have guaranteed them no chaos post turn one. What happened? Lack of quality, plain and simple.
RomTrain
26th May 2024, 22:04
KMag being KMag again. Totally unnecessary. His stubborn driving antics could once cause a serious shunt. Lets hope it never happens.
Pedro Henrique Fernandes Carneiro
26th May 2024, 22:41
While Perez did squeeze him, I still think it’s Magnussens fault, and he should’ve been given a race ban. You don’t go for a gap that will vanish late, plus he wasn’t alongside Perez
EffWunFan (@cairnsfella)
27th May 2024, 1:43
I am not saying you are wrong, however the gap only ‘needed’ to vanish if Perez so chose. Many race passes have been completed or attempted where the leading driver could have pinched the driver behind before they were fully alongside, and whilst retaining a racing line. The move was aggressive, but Perez squeezed a car he knew was there which would obviously have the potential for consequences which would not be the case if he had not squeezed.
Still, despite all I have said I will add two things:-
Regardless of what would appear to be my defense of K-Mag, it was indeed a high risk hero or zero move that maybe he should not have pursued, and
It will either be a miracle or a conspiracy if K-Mag does not warrant a ban before the season is out.
EffWunFan (@cairnsfella)
27th May 2024, 1:29
Going from the comments alone it seems that the stewards decision may have been correct. Yes, there may be more people blaming K-Mag, but the number blaming Perez, or not seeing it as clear cut is still statistically meaningful.
I find with these types of incident that the visuals often cloud the bigger picture. For example, had Perez left enough space, then the resulting battle (whomever prevailed) may have generated positive discussion as a highlight in an otherwise dull race. And in such a situation I doubt anyone would have said “I didn’t like that battle because if Perez had not left room there would have been a huge accident”.
So whilst my view may not be ‘correct’ or perhaps ‘in line with racing etiquette’, I am more inclined to believe that Perez should have left room as there was space to do so. I do nonetheless acknowledge the risk associated with K-Mag assuming he had been seen. But I certainly do not hope that overtakes are reduced to DRS passes and drivers in front going off track in order to eliminate the risk of collisions in other battles.
And to look at it another way. If Perez had left space, was there any chance at all that the move would have been looked at by the stewards (pass or not). I wager absolutely no chance. So for the perception of fault to be attributed to K-Mag Perez needed to squeeze him into the barrier??
Mog
27th May 2024, 3:52
As someone said recently “If my mum had balls she would be my dad “
EffWunFan (@cairnsfella)
27th May 2024, 6:16
I understand the sentiment, although my ‘ifs’ were not intended to prove a point, but to note points to consider.
Merlo
28th May 2024, 5:42
I was never a fan of Magnussen, but this season that’s starting to change. Dude is willing to do whatever it takes and it makes for interesting racing.