Sergio Perez endured a weekend to forget in Monte Carlo, following up a dismal qualifying session with a heavy lap-one crash.
Sergio Perez was subjected to more humiliation after photos emerged of Monaco Grand Prix marshals posing for a group photo with the mangled wreck of his RB20. The Mexican was involved in a heavy crash with the Haas duo of Kevin Magnussen and Nico Hulkenberg on the opening lap.
Checo’s weekend in Monaco was nothing short of miserable. The 34-year-old won there in 2022, but since then the Principality has not been kind to him. After suffering a Q1 elimination in Monte Carlo for the second year running, he was caught up in an incident on the opening lap, ending his hopes of a strong recovery drive.
The Mexican was tagged on the right rear by Magnussen on the run-up to Beau Rivage, sending both cars hurtling into the barriers at high speed. The impact for Perez was heavy, bringing out the red flag, and Helmut Marko later estimated that the crash set Red Bull back over £2 million.
To add insult to injury, Monaco GP marshals were later spotted taking a group selfie with the wrecked RB20 after both cars had been cleared away from the track. Elsewhere, video footage from behind the barriers showed the terrifying impact of the shunt with showers of debris scattering towards the photographers in the vicinity.
Despite the massive damage, the stewards declared ‘no further action’ on the contact, writing it off as a typical lap-one racing incident. This decision did not go down well with members of the Red Bull team, who pinned the blame on Magnussen for going for a gap that wasn’t there.
“If you see my onboard, at no point you see Kevin’s car – not even close to me, alongside me, and you could see that the wall is just getting closer and closer,” Perez said. “To keep it flat out, there was only one way out of it, and it was either contact with my car or with the barrier.
“There was just simply no room for both cars and at some point, he had to realise that – I mean, I’ve been in that occasion – and many times when you are the car behind you just have to realise that it’s time to back off before things get closer to you.”
Marko was also left shocked by the decision, adding: “I was surprised how quickly the incident was put to rest. Firstly, it was dangerous, and secondly, the damage to us amounts to two or three million euros. Given the budget limit, this is a real handicap.”
