Red Bull adviser Helmut Marko reveals staggering cost to repair Sergio Perez’s car after Monaco smash and slams stewards
THE eye-watering cost of Sergio Perez’s horror crash at the Monaco Grand Prix has been revealed.
Perez started down in 16th for the race after a poor qualifying session, but was then involved in a terrifying 160mph three-car pile up on lap one of he race.
On the way up the Beau Rivage to turn two, Haas driver Kevin Magnussen tagged Perez’s rear-right wheel as he was squeezed against the wall and left with no room to escape.
This saw Perez, 34, spin violently into the wall and collect Magnussen, before he collided with a barrier with the momentum of the crash spinning his car around before he clipped Nico Hulkenberg as well.
The incident left debris scattered both on and off the track, with the flying debris catching one photographer and sending them to the hospital.
Stewards deemed the crash to be a racing incident and did not apply punishment to anyone.
Perez’s car was also left in a state, with the violent crash seeing his car tear in half, with only the monocoque – or “survival cell” – where the Mexican was seated remaining intact.
And Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko has now revealed the financial cost of the crash to the team.
Speaking to Sky Germany, the 81-year-old said: “Am I surprised Magnussen wasn’t penalised?
“I’m actually surprised by how quickly the stewards managed to put the incident behind them.
CASINO SPECIAL – BEST CASINO WELCOME OFFERS
“But first of all, it was very dangerous. And second of all, the damage to the RB20 is two or three million. This is a big handicap for us with the budget cap.”
Perez echoed the critical sentiment of Marko when asked about the crash.
He said: “This was more dangerous driving, just to keep it flat out knowing that there was going to come contact at some point.
“I think that was some dangerous driving.
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.
“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.”
Magnussen is two penalty points off of receiving a race ban, though he insisted Perez should have given him more room before the collision.
Complete F1 2024 race calendar – details on every Grand Prix and start time this year