Racing Point driver Sergio Perez has admitted he was "very lucky" to avoid hitting two marshals when they ran in front of his car during the Monaco Grand Prix.Perez was accelerating out of the pits after a tyre change during the early safety car period when he was caught by surprise by the marshals rushing across the track before Ste Devonte.The Mexican managed to squeeze in between the two men as one made it across to the inside barrier while the other halted in time - but it could've been an absolute disaster.Following the incident, Perez - clearly in shock - told his team radio that it could've ended with fatal consequences.

"What was wrong with those marshals? I nearly killed him."

Once the race had finished - with Perez finishing in 12th place - he revealed it was fortuitous that no one was hurt in the shocking event and pinpointed the importance of safety in Formula 1.

"I don't know if you saw, but in the safety car I had a marshal running and I nearly ran over him - coming out of the pits in Turn 1," he said.

"That was really bad. They were running back and I was coming out of the pits. I had to brake and was very lucky - they were lucky I avoided them."

He concluded: "They're usually very good, but it's safety at the end of the day - and most important is safety for the marshals and drivers."

Lewis Hamilton put on a controlled display, despite a few tyre scares, to clinch his 77th career victory and extend his lead against Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas to 17 points in the Drivers' Championship.

It was Mercedes' sixth consecutive win of the season, but Bottas was denied a sixth one-two after a controversial collision with Max Verstappen saw him finish in third behind Sebastian Vettel.