Daniil Kvyat has scolded Sergio Perez for the collision that ended his race and dropped the Mexican out of the points late on in Monaco.
In a race with very little wheel-to-wheel action, Perez was attempting to make a late switch to ultrasoft tyres work by coming through the field after dropping the order following a first pit-stop much earlier than many around him.
However, coming up to the Russian at Rasscasse, the podium sitter from the same race 12 months prior dived down the inside resulting in contact and leaving Kvyat with suspension damage.
“I was already just doing my job, just going to the finish, after all that happened this weekend I would be very happy with P9,” the Toro Rosso driver said explaining his race until that point.
“I obviously knew he [Perez] had fresher tyres, I saw what he did to Vandoorne and I thought ‘okay, this guy really is desperate’.
“So I was just covering my line, to be honest, all the time and then he tried to go from really far away, I didn’t even see it coming. What I felt was just a hit, and my race was over.
“He just tried to, you know, lean on me like it was PlayStation, and it doesn’t work like that,” he continued.
“So, very, very disappointed, I think it was a completely desperate move from him. The guy with so much experience was fighting for the podiums is doing such stupid moves.
“I think I was just doing my job today, simple as that, was doing a good race, very calm, bringing the points and then you always find the one guy who f**** your whole day, and it is Perez.”
The incident also signalled the end of the former McLaren driver’s streak of 15 consecutive races in the points, a run that saw him finish top of the midfield drivers last year and currently hold the same seventh place after six races this season.
“Basically it was a bit of a nightmare, my race, starting with Lap 1,” Perez said afterwards. “I had a little touch with my front wing, which compromised my whole race.
“We managed to recover, I overtook [Lance] Stroll and I overtook [Jolyon] Palmer, I had to risk a lot to overtake. Then I found myself with new tyres at the end and around two seconds a lap quicker than Kvyat and [Romain] Grosjean.”
Giving his view on the incident with the Toro Rosso, he added: “I saw a gap. I went for it, unfortunately, there wasn’t enough room and we slightly touched, which meant it ruined his race and my race as well.
“But to be totally honest, when I found myself in P10 on new tyres, I knew I wasn’t going to go home happy if I didn’t try. So I had to try everything.”
