Sergio Perez argued that Kevin Magnussen should have backed out to avoid the clash that took both drivers out on the opening lap in Formula 1’s Monaco Grand Prix.
Perez qualified behind the Haas drivers but was promoted places when the American squad were disqualified over a rear wing breach relating to the DRS mechanism.
However, Perez’s ambition to recover from a shock Q1 elimination to a points position was ended at the start when he collided with Magnussen through Beau Rivage.
The Dane was attempting to squeeze between the barrier and the Mexican when he pitched the Red Bull into a spin which also collected team-mate Nico Hulkenberg.
Perez claimed that Magnussen hadn’t earned the right to be given room as he was not alongside and should have held the awareness to know he needed to back out.
“I mean, if you see my onboard at no point, you see Kevin’s car not even close to me, alongside me,” Perez recalled.
“And you could see that the wall is just getting closer and closer and to keep it flat out. There was only one way out of it.
“You know, and it was either contact with my car, with the barrier, there were just simply no room for both cars. And at some point he had to realize that.
“I’ve been in that location and many times when you are the car behind, you just have to realize that it’s time to back off, you know, before things get closer to you.”
However, Magnussen denied that he was responsible and instead asserted that Perez should have left him more space as the pair climbed the hill towards Massenet.
“I think he clearly shouldn’t be there in first place because there is just one way to get out of that, he either hit the wall or hit my car,” Perez responded to those words.
“So how does he want me to leave him room if he is not even alongside, you know.
“There’s a point where you see the wall is coming to you 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.”
Perez has admitted that he was taken aback that the stewards determined that it did not require further investigation, despite opening laps being treated more leniently.
“I’m very surprised because the amount of damage and how dangerous the damage was, I’m fairly surprised,” Perez conceded.
“We need to ask for a reason why it’s not been investigated because without an investigation we don’t get a reason why it wasn’t a penalty. I’m really surprised.
“I think I got the lap one, let them race, but I think this was more dangerous driving to keep it flat out knowing that they were going to come contact at some point.
“I think that was some dangerous driving.”
Asked whether he suspected Magnussen being two penalty points from a race ban influenced that outcome, Perez replied: “I don’t want to be getting involved in that.”
