Photo by Kym Illman/Getty Images
Red Bull’s Dr. Helmut Marko lamented the cost of the opening lap crash at the Monaco Grand Prix
Shortly after the 2024 Formula 1 Monaco Grand Prix got underway on Sunday, it stopped The reason? A massive three-car shunt involving Haas drivers Kevin Magnussen and Nico Hülkenberg, and Red Bull’s Sergio Pérez. The collision knocked all three drivers out of the race and damaged a barrier, causing a lengthy delay and ending any chance those three drivers had at finishing in the points.
You can see the crash here:
And, according to Red Bull Senior Advisor Dr. Helmut Marko, the collision touched off an expensive repair job for the team.
Speaking with Sky Sports Germany, Marko lamented the cost of the damage, as well as the decision by race officials not to investigate the crash.
“Am I surprised Magnussen wasn’t penalised? I’m actually surprised by how quickly the stewards managed to put the incident behind them,” he told Sky Sports Germany.
“But first of all, it was very dangerous. And second of all, the damage to the RB20 is two to three million. This is a big handicap for us with the budget cap.”
That latter point may loom significant this season. For the first time in what feels like a long time, Red Bull faces a true challenge. With Charles Leclerc’s win in Monaco — and a third-place finish from Carlos Sainz Jr. — Ferrari banked 40 points in the Constructors’ Championship standings in Monte Carlo.
Meanwhile Max Verstappen’s sixth-place finish added just eight points to Red Bull’s tally.
As a result, Ferrari now sit just 24 points behind Red Bull in the Constructors’ Championship, meaning that an actual title fight could be in the cards. Then add in the steps forward Ferrari and McLaren have made in recent weeks, and you can see how every dollar available to Red Bull under the cost cap for in-season development could be critical.
And how the damage to Pérez’s RB20 could be costly, in more ways than one.
