F1 Announces Ruling on Sainz-Perez Collision in Baku

Alex Harrington | Sep 15, 2024

Jun 7, 2024; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; Ferrari driver driver Carlos Sainz (ESP) in the pit lane during the practice session at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. Mandatory Credit: Eric Bolte-Imagn Images / Eric Bolte-Imagn Images

On the second to last lap of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Sergio Perez clashed with Carlos Sainz, pushing both cars into the wall and ending both their races. This knocked both drivers out of podium contention. After a thorough investigation, F1 stewards have announced that no further action would be taken against either driver, concluding that the crash was a racing incident with no predominant fault.

The incident unfolded on Lap 50, just moments after Turn 2, when Sainz and Perez were neck-and-neck in the fight for a podium finish. Sainz managed to pass Perez shortly after Turn 1, leading at the apex of Turn 2 but compromised his exit. The Mexican, trailing closely, made a move to the inside of Sainz, and both cars eventually collided, causing significant damage and ending their race.

The crash propelled Perez to express his frustration over the team radio, calling Sainz a "f****** idiot," while Red Bull initially seemed inclined to blame Sainz for the incident.

Following the race, F1 stewards launched a detailed investigation into the crash, analyzing positioning and marshalling system data, video footage, and in-car evidence from both cars (Car 11 driven by Perez and Car 55 driven by Sainz). The stewards reviewed the inputs of both drivers and the observations of team representatives to reconstruct the sequence of events leading up to the collision.

As they scrutinized the incident, specific key points were questioned. After passing Perez at Turn 1, Sainz approached the apex of Turn 2 ahead but exited poorly. Perez, attempting to capitalize on this, moved to the inside. On the run to Turn 3, Sainz was seen steering near his typical racing line but slightly angled towards Perez, who maintained a line parallel to the right-hand wall but failed to move out the way. Ultimately, both cars moved away from the right-hand barrier - Sainz by one car width, and Perez by half a car width - before making contact.

The stewards' analysis found that both drivers had neutral steering with no erratic movements. While Sainz's slight move towards Perez and Perez's line positioning contributed to the collision, neither driver was found to bear predominant responsibility.

The decision impacted Perez and Sainz, who lost points in their championship bid, but more importantly, Perez's best performance this season was thwarted.

George Russell was able to capitalize on the events that happened right in front of him, finishing in P3.

"We had a really bad start to the race but on the hard tyre I think we were one of the quickest out there, got past Max and then an added bonus is finishing on the podium" he said after the race.

"I was surprised the Safety Car didn't come out sooner at the end, those cars could have been anywhere. I'm glad everyone is OK."