On the last lap of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz and Red Bull’s Sergio Perez both crashed, resulting from a contact between the two vehicles.
Perez had overtook Charles Leclerc for P2 on Lap 50 of 51, but was quickly re-passed by the Monegasque, with Sainz opportunistically taking P3 from Perez.
READ MORE: Piastri beats out Leclerc for dramatic Azerbaijan GP victory amid late-race mayhem
However, as they exited Turn 2 and headed straight down to Turn 3, Sainz and Perez collided, with Sainz appearing to slip over into the path of the Red Bull, with the Spaniard providing his version of events after the race.
“I was attacking Charles into Turn 2 and then I exited Turn 2,” according to him. “Checo (Perez) was to my left. We generally do a tiny drift to the left into the long straight, which I do about every other lap, and for whatever reason I don’t understand, Checo and I collided, which is terrible and frustrating. “We’ve already spoken,” Sainz explained. “[But] we need to analyze. I’m not the type of person who likes to assign blame to an excuse or another motorist. It is a race, and everything happens quickly.
“My feeling today is that I did nothing wrong; I did not make any wild movements, push him against the wall, or anything like that. We were simply drifting, as we do every lap.
We just touched the racing line, so we moved a little to the left. “It is what it is.” Following the event, Perez reacted angrily over team radio, calling Sainz “an idiot”. But the Mexican was more measured as he entered the media room, having spoken with the stewards after both drivers were summoned to explain their roles in the crash, which forced a Virtual Safety Car, ensuring McLaren’s Oscar Piastri’s second career win as he held off Charles Leclerc’s sister Ferrari.
“I felt that exiting Turn 2, there was plenty of room between both cars, and within a metre or two, we ended up making contact,” explained Perez, ahead of the stewards’ decision.
that no other action was required. “It’s quite unfortunate. It all happened so fast. I believe Carlos was attempting to follow Charles’ tow as he went inside, which made things quite difficult. Perez had been in contention for his first podium finish since the Chinese Grand Prix in April. And the Red Bull driver was at least pleased with his improved performance at Baku City Circuit.
“[The pace today is] massive [positive],” Perez stated. “I think we had the pace to fight for the victory today, so we just have to keep it up and hopefully in the coming races, coming weekends, we can be really strong.”
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