Red Bull suffered a bitter defeat at the 2024 Monaco GP. Formula 1 world champion Max Verstappen had no chance of making the podium, but compared to Sergio Perez, he still did relatively well with 6th place. For the Mexican, who had started from P16, the race ended before the second corner after a serious accident with Haas driver Kevin Magnussen. Nico Hülkenberg also fell victim to the collision.
Red Bull quickly identified the culprit. In a TV interview with Sky F1, Sergio Perez blamed Magnussen. “If you look at my onboard, you can’t see Kevin at any point. I was very surprised that he kept pushing, because at that point it was just completely unnecessary,” he said angrily.
Criticism of Kevin Magnussen: He must retract
For the representatives of the Formula 1 team from Milton Keynes, it was particularly incomprehensible why the incident had not even been investigated. The crash did indeed occur during the start phase, where a different road gauge is often used. On the other hand, a penalty was also handed out for another accident on the first lap (the one between Ocon and Gasly).
Trouble at Red Bull: Was the accident even investigated?
“I’m disappointed that it wasn’t investigated because it was a serious accident and my car is completely destroyed,” Perez said. Horner agreed with the 2022 Monaco winner. But did the accident really not end up in front of the stewards? The answer seems puzzling. In fact, the incident shortly before Turn 2 is never explicitly mentioned in the race control’s announcements.
During the race interruption, an incident on lap 1, turn 1 was initially noted, which was then closed a few minutes later on the grounds that no further investigation was necessary. After the Formula 1 race resumed, the same procedure was followed with the contact between Carlos Sainz and Oscar Piastri – this time the drivers involved were mentioned by name.
Since there had been no obvious incidents apart from the collision between Sainz and Piastri in Turn 1, this suggested that the first investigation was actually about the crash between Perez, Magnussen and Hülkenberg. Turn 1 had long been left behind by this point. However, this assumption was not officially confirmed.
Nico Hülkenberg: Perez and Magnussen equally to blame
Unsurprisingly, Haas does not share the view of its Red Bull colleagues. After his accident, Kevin Magnussen claimed that Perez had not left him enough space. His teammate Nico Hülkenberg did not want to pass judgment and spread the blame across both drivers: “In my opinion, Checo could have left more space. At the same time, Kevin was also optimistic to hold on. Both of them could have prevented it.”
Magnussen gets away without a penalty and, above all, without penalty points. And that is particularly important for him. Because the Dane is on the penalty file of the Formula 1 already has ten points and is only two points away from a race ban. A punishment for the accident with Perez would almost certainly have brought him this ban.