After a promising start, the Monaco Grand Prix ended in disappointment for Kevin Magnussen, with two incidents forcing the Dane to retire from the race.
The Renault Sport F1 driver had made the initial call to switch to Intermediate tyres when the safety car left the track, and had gained a number of positions as a result, but after a clash with the Scuderia Toro Rosso of Daniil Kvyat and a crash into the barriers at Mirabeau, Magnussen pulled into the pit lane to retire.
Magnussen criticised Kvyat for the move at Rascasse, when the Toro Rosso driver, in a move to try and unlap himself from the Dane, made a rash move to get passed that ultimately meant both drivers cars were damaged and facing the wall.
“We had a good start to the race and made a really good strategic call to change to the intermediate tyres just after the safety car,” said Magnussen. “We were the only ones to do it so early and it was the right decision.
“We were in a good position as a lot of people were still to pit and we gained a lot of places. Unfortunately, Kvyat just lost his mind and crashed into me and that was effectively the end of my race.
“We did continue and made an early change to slicks as we had nothing to lose, but ultimately I hit the wall and damaged the front wing. We were several laps down at that point and the car had been in the wars so it was safer to retire.
“It’s a shame we didn’t have a good weekend as we were very optimistic for the race. Now we have to shift our focus to Canada and have a better weekend there. Montréal should be a stronger track for us and should play to the strengths of the updates for the car.”
