The recently concluded Monaco GP had a fateful start with a massive collision. As Kevin Magnussen, Sergio Perez, and Nico Hulkenberg had a high-speed crash, debris flew all over. Some of it hit the photographers standing behind the guardrails and also ended up injuring one. Andrea Bruno Diodato, the injured photographer, is fortunately back on the job and considers himself lucky.
The reason behind this is the safety measures deployed at the Monegasque track. Diodato, while speaking with Formula Passion, said,
“Safety in Monaco? It’s not a problem. Indeed, paradoxically it is one of the safest circuits in the world because there are nets and guardrails everywhere. There are guardrail posts that are planted one to five meters apart from each other.” He added, “I consider myself lucky that it happened to me there and not in any other circuit.”
The Fans angle to Perez-Haas Cars crash at the #MonacoGP yesterday pic.twitter.com/vTMOHq77fE
— Desi Racing Co. (@DesiRacingco) May 27, 2024
The race started with Magnussen attempting to overtake Perez. It was a risky move as there was hardly any room for another car to go wheel-to-wheel with the Mexican driver.
It proved to be disastrous for his race and Perez’s as they both crashed into the barriers after the impact. Hulkenberg too was caught in the chaos as Perez’s car clipped the German’s car while he was passing.
Debris from all three cars flew all over the place, including the area occupied by the photographers. Luckily, the guardrails saved them all but Diodato who was struck in one of his legs.
The Italian shutterbug is thankful to the organizers for installing guardrails on a street track, which is a rarity. He is now back to work and recently covered the MotoGP race on the Mugello circuit.
The Sergio Perez crash costs Red Bull dearly
Perez’s car was reduced to a wreck after the crash. Fortunately, he came out unscathed and walked himself out of the car on his own. The Haas drivers took heavy damage to their cars as well. However, it wasn’t as bad as Perez’s car.
Helmut Marko assessed the damage to cost Red Bull anywhere in the ballpark of $2-3 million. The Austrian blamed Magnussen for the unnecessary maneuver but was ultimately thankful his driver came back without any injuries. Team boss Christian Horner echoed a similar sentiment.
Marko, however, rued the lasting impact of the crash. He highlighted how the cost will end up hurting the team in the cost cap era. The teams have a budget of $135 million and the repair costs come under it. Perez’s crash can, therefore, end up hurting them in the development process.
