Kevin Magnussen said Sergio Perez made a “desperate” attempt to overtake when the pair collided in the Japanese Grand Prix.
Perez retired from the race as a result of the damage he incurred when he collided with Magnussen at the hairpin. The Red Bull driver made a late lunge down the inside of the Haas driver, knocking Magnussen into a spin which dropped him from 11th to last on lap 12.The stewards gave Perez a five-second penalty for the incident. Magnussen said the collision ruined his race.
“I just got hit on my rear tyre,” said Magnussen, who finished last of the final runners. “It was a pretty desperate move, but it is what it is. I got spun around and then we had to pit.”
The Haas driver had started on the medium tyre compound and was forced to shorten his first stint because of the collision. “That was too early for the two-stop strategy and the tyre degradation that we had on our car,” he said.
“So it made that situation a lot worse by having to pit at that point. It ended our race there – and his as well, of course.”
Perez pitted for a new front wing before retiring on lap 15 due to damage from the incident. He accepted responsibility for the collision.
“I was struggling quite a lot on the braking with the front end,” said Perez. “I tried to dive in, but then I just couldn’t stop in time and it was my mistake.”
Perez, who started fifth, ended up behind Magnussen after tangling with Lewis Hamilton at the start, which caused him to pit for a new front wing.
“I had a horrible start,” Perez added. “Basically going into turn one I was just a passenger. I had Sainz on my right, Lewis on the left, and they just took the whole front wing end plate.
“It’s really hard to judge, but as soon as I went into turn two I had no front end. We changed the front wing and still I had no front end. So I think there was a lot more things damaged on the car.”
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2023 Japanese Grand Prix
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Jere (@jerejj)
24th September 2023, 14:23
Two different drivers have suffered from Checo’s desperation & called him or his attempts desperate, so I wonder who’ll be the third.
f12007v (@f1fan-2000)
24th September 2023, 14:57
One of the backmarkers as thats where he will be fighting in with the fastest car on the grid
Yellow Baron
24th September 2023, 17:24
I think you mean 3. 4 incidents for 2 races if you add max. And they got away with all of it.
Nick T.
25th September 2023, 0:35
He cost Albon a points finish in Singapore and took out Yuki on the first lap too. In Japan, he drove into a sandwich again and then ruined Kevin’s race (even if it didn’t happen, there’s always a potential for events to unfold in a way to give cars at the back a chance at points).
He’s also costing teams lots of money in damage and lost points, which is why a +5 second penalty that doesn’t even penalize the offender’s result is such a joke. That’s why the +5 second penalty should only be used for true racing incidents where a collision is 60/40, 70/30, etc. Not a clear case of one driver just punting someone out of the way like with Albon or making an amateur style error like Perez did with Magnussen.
Kribana (@krichelle)
24th September 2023, 15:52
I had the hardest facepalm in almost 4 years since Vettel spun in Bahrain against Hamilton when I immediately saw the attempt. Absolutely unnecessary and stupid, I bet he was also trying to get a safety car so he could comeback in the race. It’s just against a Haas for crying out loud.
Edvaldo
24th September 2023, 15:57
I couldn’t help but remember Mark Webber having that crash trying to overtake a Lotus/Caterham 5sec a lap slower as if it was the last lap of the season.
SteveP
24th September 2023, 17:12
I think it might be a faulty nut behind the wheel.
Jim from US (@jimfromus)
24th September 2023, 18:23
+1
F1 frog (@f1frog)
24th September 2023, 19:45
Under the current penalty system it is actually a good tactic to just punt someone out if you can’t overtake them, assuming you can avoid damage yourself. Just a five second penalty.
laski
24th September 2023, 21:13
make a car just fast enough to dive bomb, make the front wing and suspension sturdy enough to take a hit and you have a winning combination
Applebook
24th September 2023, 22:16
What do you think Max was trying to do for the entire 2021 campaign and actually succeeded in Italy of that year?
Dex
24th September 2023, 21:19
I thought Checo was a humble man, a family man, a fine person, someone coming from poverty and who knows about humility. He continually shows huge disrespect to drivers from smaller teams (as if he was always driving a RB), to the point where I think he shall either change his approach or I hope he gets fired and removed from F1 altogether. He literally expected Magnussen to just get out of his way, to remove himself from the track if need be, like someone who doesn’t matter at all (because Perez’ fight is so much more important of course, as he’s fighting for bare points in the best car on the grid). I liked this guy. He did have his moment here and there, but who hasn’t? But this is a pattern now, and it’s an ugly pattern. We show who we are when we’re under pressure, and if this is who he is, I hope to see his back soon. Besides, being so arrogant on track and being a second per lap slower than your teammate, that just doesn’t compute.
Jackal
24th September 2023, 23:51
The guy is just a joke. I mean if he did it just once you could give him the benefit of the doubt and chaulk it up to a bad race, but the guy has been trash for most of this season …… driving far and away the best car on the grid. Simply pathetic.
Chris Horton
25th September 2023, 10:10
Come on everyone.
I was a very poor move, but he’s under immense pressure. Making character judgements is bizarre.
Yes, he has the best car in the field, but unless you’re all brand new to the sport, I cannot understand how you have come to the conclusion that this is an accurate representation of his talent.
Let’s try being a little less hate filled.