Kevin Magnussen has condemned Sergio Perez’s overtake attempt during the Japanese Grand Prix, labelling it a “pretty desperate move”.
On Lap 12 of the race, Perez attempted to move ahead of Magnussen into the hairpin, but the move was bungled with the Red Bull tapping the left rear of Magnussen and sending the Haas driver around.
Perez sustained damage to another front wing, after being forced to pit for a replacement following Lap 1 contact with Lewis Hamilton.
The pair were running in 11th and 12th at the time, with the clash ruining Magnussen’s race while Perez retired from the race - only to reappear to serve the time penalty he was issued for the incident.
Reflecting on the incident after the Grand Prix, Magnussen said: “I just got hit on my rear tyre.
“It was a pretty desperate move, but it is what it is. I got spun around, we had to pit.
“That was too early for the two-stop strategy that we had and the tyre degradation we had on our car.
“It made that situation a lot worse by having to pit at that point.
“I didn’t really want to do a three-stop, that wouldn’t have worked either. It ended our race there, and his. But **** happens.”
Magnussen eventually classified in 15th - the last of the runners to see the chequered flag.
Max
Verstappen
Lewis
Hamilton
Sergio
Pérez
Carlos
Sainz
Red Bull
Ferrari
Mercedes
Alpine
Alfa Romeo
