Magnussen would be dealt with 'in my time' – Villeneuve

May 27 (GMM) Kevin Magnussen’s driving would have been different “in my time”, according to 1997 world champion Jacques Villeneuve.

Although some think Sergio Perez could have given the Haas driver a little more space, Magnussen is back in the headlines for arguably causing a huge and dangerous crash up the Monaco hill on lap 1 on Sunday.

A photographer even had to seek medical treatment in hospital after being hit by debris – and Magnussen’s teammate Nico Hulkenberg, also caught up in the ruckus, admitted he and Perez immediately blamed the Danish driver.

“I’m a bit angry. When we got out the car, we said to Kevin, ‘Hey, what’s going on?'” Hulkenberg admitted. “‘That spot is too narrow and too fast to overtake at’.”

Interestingly, the FIA decided to take no action.

“Another accident in which Magnussen was involved,” slammed Red Bull’s Dr Helmut Marko. “You need to carefully review the replays.

“I was surprised how quickly the stewards decided not to look into the incident. Firstly, it was dangerous, and secondly, the damage amounts to two or three million. And this is a serious problem for us with the budget constraints.”

Mexican Perez agrees: “I was disappointed that it was not investigated.

“It was a huge accident and my car is completely destroyed.”

Magnussen is currently under huge pressure in Formula 1, admitting after the crash that 2024 so far has been “the most difficult start to a season for me ever”.

He’s on the cusp of an unprecedented race ban under the current super license penalty points system, and at risk of losing his seat at Haas for 2025.

“In my time, Magnussen would no longer be so aggressive,” Jacques Villeneuve told Sport1. “We would have pushed him into the wall and made it clear to him – ‘This is not acceptable’.”

One of Villeneuve’s contemporaries, Ralf Schumacher, agreed on Sky Deutschland: “Perez did not expect that, because a normal person does not see any gap there.”