Jenson Button may have taken a neutral stance on the Sergio Perez vs Kevin Magnussen incident in Monaco, but Martin Brundle believes the Haas driver should have backed off.
After a disastrous qualifying in which Perez and his Haas teammate were disqualified for a rear wing infringement, Perez and Magnussen finished 16th and 20th in Monaco.
Jenson Button: It’s a really strange story.
The Mexican driver had a slow start which dropped him to 17th, while Magnussen had worked his way up to 18th and was attacking Pérez for the position.
However, as he tried to sneak up on the Red Bull driver’s inside he made contact with Perez, who went nose-first into the Armco barrier in a terrifying crash for the Mexican driver and a trackside photographer.
Perez’s RB20 went over the barrier protecting photographers and sent debris everywhere, with all four corners shattered, while Magnussen’s Haas also suffered race-ending damage.
His Haas teammate Nico Hulkenberg also made contact with Perez, who crashed.
The race was red-flagged and marshals set about clearing the wreckage, while stewards investigated the incident, but it was ruled that no one was entirely responsible.
Button, the 2009 world champion, agreed and felt both drivers should have given each other more space.
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“I was surprised [Perez] Already knew [Magnussen] It was there and I didn’t move a little further left,” he said. Sky Sports.
“The impact was severe and, because he was travelling at such a high speed, he ended up landing around 300 metres from the accident scene.
“That’s really strange.
“I have to say that both players should have given each other more space.
“Was it an accident during the race? Checo knew Kevin was there and maybe he should have given him a bit more space.”
“But,” Magnussen added, “if there’s a car coming from the right going 150 mph, I’ll back away.”
And Brundle believes that is exactly what Magnussen should have done.
“There was no need for Kevin Magnussen to park his car there,” he said. “There was a moment when K-Mag should have abandoned it.”
“It just wasn’t worth the risk there, you’re fighting with the Red Bulls at the back and they’re not next to you at all.”
Another former F1 driver, Timo Glock, agrees with Brundle on this point.
“If I was in Kevin Magnussen’s position I would have to back off somewhere, because he wasn’t wrong. He knows how to get to the casino and he knows it’s not just a straight line,” the former Toyota driver said.
“If he had stepped back the accident could have been avoided.”
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