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Sergio Perez

'Shaky' Perez tears into Magnussen after 'dangerous' Monaco crash

Sergio Perez has reflected on the first lap accident that destroyed his Red Bull after contact with Kevin Magnussen.

Perez crash Monaco
Article
To news overview © XPBimages

Sergio Perez has slammed Kevin Magnussen for the first lap contact that destroyed the Red Bull during the Monaco Grand Prix.

Climbing the hill for the first time, Magnussen attempted to move alongside Perez on the Mexican's right-hand side, but was squeezed against the wall, slamming Perez at high-speed into the armco barrier.

The RB20 was destroyed with one wheel torn off and the survival cell protecting Perez, as the race was red-flagged for nearly 45 minutes to allow for barrier repairs and clean-up.

The stewards did not decide to investigate the incident - with Magnussen on 10 penalty points, two away from a race ban, as Perez slammed the Dane for his actions.

"I am a little bit shaky as it was quite a heavy impact," Perez explained when asked by RacingNews365 for his view of the accident.

"If you see my onboard, at no point do you see Kevin's car even being close to being alongside me, and you can see that the wall is just getting closer and closer and to keep it flat out, there was only one way out of it. 

"The contact with the barrier with my car, there was simply no room for both cars, and at some point, he had to realise that. 

"I've been in that situation many times, and when you are the car behind, you have to realise that it is time to back off before things get close to you.

"He clearly shouldn't be there in the first place, because there is just one way to get out of that where it will be to hit the wall or hit my car with the right tyre of my car.

"How does he want me to leave him room if he is not even alongside? There is a point where you see the wall and you just have to back off.

"It has happened to me many times and there is a point where you just have to back off.

Magnussen 'doesn't think'

For his part, Magnussen claimed he was squeezed by Perez and the contact was inevitable, but the 2022 Monaco winner felt the move was something Magnussen has a track record of.

"I am very surprised [it was not investigated] because the amount of damage and how dangerous it was," Perez added. 

"I don't think he really thinks about the outcome.

"Sometimes you find yourself in a position and you have to take a very quick decision to say: 'Okay, there is only one way out of it, and so I will back out', but he will go for the contact."

Perez also refused to comment on the idea that the stewards did not decide to investigate Magnussen as he would have likely received a race ban if he received two penalty points.

Who do you think was at blame in the crash? Let us know by voting in the latest RN365 poll below and in the comments. 

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