Nico Hulkenberg has claimed Sergio Perez and Kevin Magnussen didn’t take “calculated risks” in the collision that took all three out in Formula 1’s Monaco Grand Prix.
Haas was endeavouring to recover from disqualifications for a rear wing breach that demoted its drivers to the rear, but both cars were eliminated on the opening lap.
Magnussen had attempted to squeeze past Perez on the climb up the hill towards Massenet but the gap narrowed as the track tightened and the pair tangled wheels.
The Mexican was pitched into a high-speed spin which sent him into the barriers and back across the track, where he ended up on a collision course with Hulkenberg.
Hulkenberg was disgruntled to be collateral damage in an incident that he didn’t have an involvement in and thinks he was “two-tenths” from avoiding Perez’s Red Bull.
“I think unnecessary from both really, it could have been avoided easily.
“Obviously, for me, who wasn’t directly involved, it’s the shittiest of all. I missed it probably by two-tenths.
“If I would have been two times further up the road, he would have missed me.
“I’m gutted and disappointed because everyone in the team, we all invest a lot of energy and time and it’s just frustrating.”
The German conceded that he could understand Magnussen’s ambitiousness, but he contended both his team-mate and Perez put themselves in precarious positions.
Asked whether he could simpathise with Magnussen taking such a risk, Hulkenberg replied: “Yeah, of course, but nobody has won the Monaco Grand Prix on Lap One.
“So, you have to take calculated risk and risks that make sense. It’s always that risk-reward question that you have to [answer] yourself.”
However, Magnussen, who is two penalty points from a race ban, would not take the blame for the clash and instead implied that Perez should have given more space.
“Well, he clearly wasn’t leaving space that I thought he would,” he claimed. “I had a good part of my front end, my whole front wheel was ahead of his rear wheel.
“So, I did expect him to be leaving room for one car on his right, especially since he didn’t have anyone on his inside.
“On his left, there was a completely clear track. So he just squeezed me into the wall.”
“It’s not good to see both cars in one crash. It sucks. It’s a shitty, shitty situation.”
