Mick Schumacher called his race-ending crash during the Monaco Grand Prix as ‘annoying’, with the German feeling running wide by around ten centimetres had big consequences.
The Haas F1 Team driver lost all grip coming through the Swimming Pool complex on the twenty-seventh lap and hit the barriers hard, with the gearbox and rear wing structure detaching itself from the rest of his VF-22.
Schumacher was unharmed in the accident, but it was another day of frustration for the German, who is still aiming for his first point in the FIA Formula 1 World Championship.
“I’m feeling alright, it’s very annoying,” said Schumacher. “In terms of pace, we were definitely there and it’s just a matter of keeping it on track – unfortunately I wasn’t able to do that.
“The pace felt strong and it felt like we were able to attack and push. Unfortunately, I went a bit too wide, probably about 10 centimetres at the end, and that’s enough to lose all grip that you thought you had and the result is what happened.”
“It’s unfortunate with no points today” – Kevin Magnussen
Team-mate Kevin Magnussen had already retired by the time of Schumacher’s crash, with the Dane suffering with a power unit issue.
Magnussen felt he had a chance of points had he not been forced to pull into the pits as he was on the tail of Alfa Romeo F1 Team ORLEN’s Valtteri Bottas, who ended up finishing up in ninth. It ended up being a case of what might have been for the twenty-nine-year-old.
“We had power unit issue of some sort, so we had to retire the car – there was nothing we could do about that sadly,” said Magnussen. “I really thought our pace in the race was good considering we were on a full wet on a dry line, I had been able to keep [Pierre] Gasly behind until our issue and I was closing on Bottas.
“It would have been really exciting around the pit stops to see what could have happened. It’s unfortunate with no points today even though I think we had the car to do it, we knew we could fight.”
Kevin Magnussen was the Monaco Grand Prix’s first retirement – Credit: Andy Hone / LAT Images