Sergio Perez saw his Red Bull car destroyed in a crash with Kevin Magnussen on the first lap of the Monaco Grand Prix which Helmut Marko says has left the team with a financial headache
Red Bull face a repair bill that could top £2million after Sergio Perez’s huge crash at the Monaco Grand Prix.
Perez was out of the race within seconds of the start as he was involved in the massive-three car smash on the run up the hill after the first corner. Contact with the Haas of Kevin Magnussen sent the Red Bull spinning hard into the barrier.
Images of the aftermath showed just how much damage had been done. Debris was scattered all across the track which required a 40-minute delay to the race to clean up, while there was little left of Perez’s car as it was lifted off the circuit.
The stewards decided that no further investigation into the crash was necessary, deeming it a racing incident. Given the severity of the impact, that decision caught many by surprise – including Red Bull team adviser Helmut Marko.
The Austrian paddock veteran told Sky Germany: “It’s another accident in which Magnussen was involved. You should watch the replays carefully. Thank God it turned out well, but it was a very critical situation.
“I was surprised how quickly they put this incident behind them. These are decisions that you can hardly influence. On the one hand, there is the danger and on the other hand, the damage is two to three million [euros]. With the budget regulations, that is a big handicap for us.”
Also speaking on Sky Germany, former F1 racer Ralf Schumacher was critical of Perez at the end of a weekend to forget for the 34-year-old. Schumacher even went as far as to declare: “Perez must be replaced as soon as possible”
