Near-miss for Monaco Grand Prix photographers after three-car F1 incident

Nearby F1 photographers at the Monaco Grand Prix narrowly escaped serious harm after a dramatic three-car shunt on the opening lap of the race.

Sergio Perez, Kevin Magnussen and Nico Hulkenberg all suffered terminal damage on Lap 1 in Monaco.

Perez suffered the most damage after he spun into the path of Hulkenberg and into the barrier, completely destroying his Red Bull.

Footage after the race emerged showing a shower of debris from his car littering the track - and the section where a number of photographers were standing.

One photographer was taken to hospital - but was later released following inspection - over fear of a possible injury.

The Mirror reported that the FIA confirmed that the aforementioned photographer suffered no “open wounds”.

It was deemed a racing incident, particularly due to the fact it was on the opening lap.

Magnussen attempted to go side-by-side with Perez on the exit of Sainte Devote.

Perez didn’t adjust his line - and wasn’t required to do so - and with a closing gap for Magnussen, the pair collided.

Speaking after the race, Magnussen felt he could do nothing to avoid it.

"From my point of view, I had a good chunk of my front alongside Perez's rear, and when he went into the wall, I got taken into the wall and pushed into him,” he said.

“I trusted that he was going to leave the space for me since I was there and it is not a corner you are braking into, it is just a little bend on the straight.”

On the other hand, Perez said that Magnussen needed to lift.

"It was an immense crash, one I'm disappointed about," Perez added. "I think it was totally unnecessary at that point of the race and there was no need for that.

"At some point you have two options: Lift or have a contact, and I think it was too unnecessary with the speeds we were doing, and it was a massive contact.

"It was important to take things a little bit calmer."