Monaco Grand Prix STOPPED by red flag after horrific first-lap crash tears Sergio Perez’s F1 car in half
An Alpine driver was forced to retire as well
SERGIO PEREZ saw his Formula One car get torn to bits in a horrific first-lap crash at the Monaco Grand Prix.
The Red Bull driver was tagged by Haas driver Kevin Magnussen on the inside of the track when heading up the Beau Rivage on the way to turn two.
The shocking 160mph crash saw Perez’s rear right wheel clipped by Magnussen before he violently spun to the right and into the wall before the momentum took him further up the track.
Fellow Haas driver Nico Hulkenberg was then caught up in the madness as Perez’s car caught him and forced him to spin around.
Stewards initially waved for a yellow flag before quickly upgrading it to a red flag and stopping the session.
The track was left covered in debris from the crash, while Perez’s car was left without any of it’s wheels, with only the monocoque left intact.
It’s magnitude was so potent that debris even spilled over the top of the safety barriers, leading to a lengthy delay as the barriers were repaired.
The stewards declared there was no investigation necessary for the crash, ensuring Magnussen did not add to his 10 penalty points.
The crash left the three drivers out of the race, while madness further up the order also saw Ferrari ace Carlos Sainz go off track following a lock up.
Charles Leclerc eventually took first place in his home Grand Prix, ahead of Oscar Piastri and Sainz.
But the race was slammed for being a procession, with even Max Verstappen, who came sixth, joking that he has “wished he’d brought his pillow”.
Perez was quizzed about the accident afterwards and blasted Magnussen saying: “I was a little bit shaky. It was quite a heavy impact.
Why do F1 cars come apart so dramatically in a crash?
F1 safety has come a long way in it's 74 year history.
Indeed, a massive tell of this is the safety features of the cars in the modern era.
One feature of this is the way the cars break apart in a high-speed crash much like crumple zones seen in road cars.
F1 cars now break apart during severe collisions as a means of dissipating the kinetic energy away from the driver taken during the incident.
The cars themselves are built around a monocoque – also known as a “survival cell” – with 2018 seeing the introduction of the halo prominently on top around the drivers head to boost this further.
This safety cell is made from 6millimetre of exceedingly strong carbon fibre composite with a layer of kevlar, which is penetration resistant and can absorb a huge amount of energy in a crash.
Meanwhile, the halo was a large reason as to why Romain Grosjean survived his horror crash at the Bahrain Grand Prix in 2020.
“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.
“It was either contact with my car, with the barrier, there was just simply no room for both cars.
“At some point he had to realise that it’s time to back off before things get closer.
“I’m very surprised [it was not investigated by the stewards] because of the amount of damage and how dangerous the damage was.
“This was more dangerous driving just to keep it flat out knowing that they were going to come into contact at some point.”
Red Bull boss Christian Horner said he too was surprised that Magnussen, who is two-penalty points away from a race ban, was not quizzed by race bosses.
He added: “I was surprised it wasn’t investigated because it was quite a hefty incident.
“Given he had a wheel up the inside in a part of the track that only ever narrows, you would have expected him to back out.
“Not only has he destroyed Checo’s race and the car he’s also destroyed his teammates race, so not very clever.
“It was a horrible looking accident and your heart is in your mouth at that point and immediate focus is on the safety of the driver.
“Cars can be fixed. The structure and the halo and everything did its job. The most important is Checo was able to walk away from what looked like a very nasty incident, unscathed.”
However, he was fortunate the session was red flagged as he profited from the crash allowing him to stay in P3 after he dropped down the order.
The Monaco madness was also present at Alpine as Esteban Ocon was sent flying into the air after being rear-ended by team-mate Pierre Gasly at turn eight following an overtake.
It was then announced that the race would restart at 2:44pm UK time in the form of a standing start.
Before the restart Ocon was then spotted in his jeans and an Alpine T-shirt, indicating he was the fourth driver to retire from the race.
Speaking to Sky Sports after the crash, Magnussen said: “I think it’s something they [the stewards] will look at.
“It’s a big crash, from my point of view I was there and I got squeezed to the wall.”
F1 rules state that under red flags drivers are allowed to switch tyres, with Lewis Hamilton among those to swap to the faster medium tyre compound after initially starting on the hard tyre.
Ocon also received a 10-second time penalty for his part in his crash, which will be applied in the form of a five-place grid penalty at the next race.
Monaco avoided a potential disaster of a crash at the circuit yesterday thanks to the quick reactions of Isack Hadjar.
The 19-year-old had lightning quick reactions in the Monaco tunnel to dodge a crash with Ritomo Miyata, leaving teen star Ollie Bearman stunned.
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