Daniil Kvyat has blamed Force India's Sergio Perez's "desperate' attempt to pass for putting him out of the Monaco Grand Prix six laps from the end.
Perez just had pitted with a puncture and was out on fresher tyres when he attempted to dive down the inside of the Toro Rosso at Rascasse. Kvyat was just turning in, and the two cars made contact.
“I think I was just doing my job today, it was as simple as that,” said an angry Russian. "I was doing a good race, very calm, bringing the car within the points."
But as Perez closed the gap behind him, Kvyat knew that an overtaking attempt was bound to come.
"I thought 'this guy is really desperate,' so I was just covering my line to be honest, all the time.
"Then he tried to go from really far away. I didn't even see him coming. What I felt was just a hit and my race was over.
"He just tried to lean on me like it was PlayStation. It doesn't work like that."
Kvyat was forced to retire on the spot, while Perez was able to continue after a precautionary check up by his pit crew. However it meant the Mexican finished out the points for the first time in 2017.
"I think it was completely desperate," Kvyat said when asked for his verdict on Perez' overtaking attempt. "You always find that one guy who f***s your whole day, and it's Perez.
“His day was ruined anyway," Kvyat noted. "He was trying to be a hero. I don't think people appreciate it. If he'd made that move stick he wouldn't have been a hero today.”
Kvyat didn't expect the race stewards to penalise Perez for the accident. "Logic tells me that with the latest philosophy they apply it shouldn't be a penalty, probably," he admitted. "But since it ruined my race also, I think it should."
As it turned out, the race stewards did hand Perez a reprimand and a ten-second time penalty, as well as two penalty points.
For his part, Perez admitted that he had been trying like mad to make up for a setback at the start of the race.
"It was a bit of a nightmare, my race, starting with lap one," he told Sky Sports F1. "I had a little touch with my front wing, which compromised my whole race.
"I saw a gap [with Kvyat], and 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. I had to try everything."
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