The 2024 Monaco Grand Prix had not completed one lap before race directors stopped the race following a “monster of an accident”.
While pole-sitter Charles Leclerc and Australian Oscar Piastri were battling for the race lead, carnage behind them forced the red flag to be waived as debris was strewn across the streets of Monaco.
The Red Bull of Sergio Perez was left with just one wheel properly attached to his car, while both Haas drivers were for involved in the massive shunt.
The crash began when the Haas of Kevin Magnussen hit the rear-right wheel of Perez, who was sent flying into the barriers as the cars raced up the hill at the start of the lap.
Nico Hulkenberg, the other Haas driver, was an innocent bystander who could not avoid hitting both cars in the crash.
Former F1 driver turned commentator Martin Brundle described the crash as a “monster of an accident” while commenting on the state of Perez’s car.
“Look at how well the survival cell has worked,” Brundle told Sky Sports after seeing Perez out of the car.
“That’s kind of written-off every single piece of that Formula 1 car.”
Former world champion Jenson Button told Sky Sports he believed both Perez and Magnussen could have given each other more room, but believed Magnussen should have backed out.
Magnussen told media he thought he should have been given more space by Perez.
“From my point of view, I had a good part of my front on Perez’s rear,” he said.
“When he went to the wall, I just got pushed into the wall and made contact with him.
“I trusted he was going to leave a space for me, since I was there.”
Carlos Sainz, who suffered a tyre puncture after making contact with Piastri, was the major beneficiary of the red flag.
Sainz went to the rear of the field after being unable to turn his car, but the race stoppage meant the drivers went back to their original grid spots for the race restart.
The contact between the Spaniard and the Australian damaged the floor and sidepod of Piastri’s McLaren.
The team were able to replace the sidepod during the race stoppage, but were unable to replace the floor.
This led to a lack of downforce for the Australian as he went about chasing Leclerc for the race lead.
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