The Mexican, starting 16th, was tagged by the Haas of Kevin Magnussen heading uphill after the first corner, Sainte Devote. The Dane’s front left caught Perez’s rear right, sending the latter into the barriers.

Perez then ricocheted into the other Haas of Nico Hulkenberg in dramatic pinball action that brought out a red flag while the debris was cleared.

Perez’s Red Bull was all but destroyed with just one wheel left attached, though the monocoque protected the driver from physical damage.

All climbed out without obvious injuries.

Sergio Perez’s car was all but destroyed following a first lap crash at the Monaco Grand Prix

Only one wheel was left attached on Perez’s car following the crash with Kevin Magnussen

A red flag was waved following the crash on a dramatic start to the Monaco Grand Prix

In a mad start, the two Alpines tangled, sending Esteban Ocon airborne on the entry to the tunnel. He landed safely but retired from the race under the red flag due to the damage his car suffered.

Carlos Sainz, running third for Ferrari, stopped at Casino Square as he appeared to go in too deep, after contact with Oscar Piastri at the start.

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc led from pole with McLaren’s Piastri second prior to the stoppage.

The stewards took no action in the Perez-Magnussen-Hulkenberg collision – and rightly so for a racing incident on the first lap (where the stewards try to be more lenient).

Ocon was handed a 10-second penalty, but he didn’t restart the race in any case.

Racing resumed at 2.46pm (3.46pm local time) after debris was cleared from the circuit.

Stewards confirmed Sainz would resume in third at the restart, with drivers having not progressed enough around the first lap to establish a new order.

The race resumed without Perez, Magnussen, Hulkenberg and Ocon following the crash.

Debris from Perez’s car was sent across the circuit following the crash with Magnussen

Race marshalls cleared the track after the race was red flagged after the opening lap crash

The marshalls were forced to clear a significant amount of debris before racing could resume

Speaking on Sky Sports, former world champion Jenson Button suggested Perez and Magnussen should have given each other more room.

‘It’s surprising [Perez] knew [Magnussen] was there and didn’t move to the left a little bit more,’ Button said.

‘It was a horrible impact and because you’re going at such a high speed there you end up about 300 metres away from the incident.

‘It’s a real strange one. You’ve got to say both guys should have given each other more room.

‘Is it a racing incident? It kind of is because Checo knew Kevin was there and maybe should have given him a little bit more room, but if a car is coming to the right doing 150mph, I’d back out.’