Sergio Perez was involved in a huge crash on the opening lap of the Monaco Grand Prix which left his RB20 in tatters and brought out a red flag. The Red Bull star’s race lasted a matter of seconds as a collision with Kevin Magnussen sent him careering into the barriers at high speed.
The Mexican miraculously walked away unhurt, despite the extensive damage to his almost unrecognisable F1 car. The crash stemmed from Haas driver Magnussen attempting to make a move up the inside on the way up the hill.
But as Perez closed the door, Magnussen ran out of room and contact became inevitable. The other Haas driver, Nico Hulkenberg, became caught in the crossfire and all three drivers saw their Grand Prix ended.
“It was unnecessary from Kevin Magnussen to keep his car there,” co-commentator Martin Brundle told Sky Sports. “There was a moment when K-Mag should have abandoned that. It was not worth the risk up there. You are fighting at the back against a Red Bull when you are not anywhere near alongside.”
The nightmare incident comes after both Haas drivers were disqualified from qualifying on Saturday due to stewards discovering a technical infringement involving their DRS system.
Perez’s qualifying efforts were no more joyful as he failed to get out of Q1 despite driving one of the fastest cars in the field. Red Bull have struggled to get to grips with the Monaco Grand Prix circuit as ride problems complicated matters for both Perez and Max Verstappen.
The early drama which saw Perez and both Haas drivers crash out was far from the only thing that happened on a wild opening lap in Monaco. A collision with Oscar Piastri saw Carlos Sainz sustain damage and subsequently limp his way back to the pits.
There was also major contact between Alpine drivers Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly, which sent Ocon’s car flying in the car as Gasly bellowed over the team radio: “What did he do? Why did he try to attack me? Oh my gosh! The whole car is damaged now!”
After a lengthy delay while work was done to repair the barriers and clear debris from the circuit, F1 stewards decided to restore the original starting order due to the fact so little race distance was covered.
That came as a welcome development for Sainz, who was put back to the third place he earned in qualifying. Charles Leclerc started his home race on pole, while Verstappen was sixth on the grid after struggling for pace on Saturday.
