F1 News: Carlos Sainz And Sergio Perez Have Their Say On Azerbaijan Crash

Both Carlos Sainz and Sergio Perez discuss their perspectives on the Azerbaijan crash that ended their races, with stewards ultimately ruling it a racing incident without penalties.

Jun 7, 2024; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; Red Bull Racing driver Sergio Perez (MEX) in the pit lane during the practice session at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. Mandatory Credit: Eric Bolte-Imagn Images / Eric Bolte-Imagn Images

The 2024 Azerbaijan Grand Prix took a turn during the penultimate lap when a collision between Carlos Sainz of Ferrari and Sergio Perez of Red Bull abruptly ended both drivers' races and podium aspirations. The incident, taking place between Turn 2 and Turn 3 on Lap 50 of 51, resulted in both drivers being investigated by the stewards following the race.

The sequence of events leading to the crash began when Perez initially overtook Charles Leclerc for P2 at the start of Lap 50. However, Leclerc quickly reclaimed his position, creating an opportunity for Sainz to seize Perez's third-place. The drama unfolded as Sainz, attacking Leclerc into Turn 2, exited poorly, positioning Perez on his left. Both drivers drifted slightly towards the racing line, resulting in a collision that sent their cars into the wall, eliminating them from the race.

Reflecting on the crash, Carlos Sainz provided a detailed account:

"I was attacking Charles into Turn 2 and then I exited Turn 2. Checo [Perez] was on my left. We normally do a slight drift towards the left into the long straight, which I did like every other lap, and suddenly for some reason I don’t understand, Checo and I collided, which is unfortunate and also very disappointing."

Sainz was mightily disappointed.

"We’ve spoken already. [But] we need to analyze. I’m not someone who wants to put blame on either an excuse or put blame on another driver. It’s racing, everything happens super-fast," he added.

Sergio Perez's initial reaction on the team radio was a frustrated outburst, labeling Sainz “an idiot”. However, his later comments were more composed:

"I felt that exiting Turn 2, there was plenty of room between both cars, and within a meter or two, we ended up making contact.

"It’s very unfortunate. It all happened so quickly. I think Carlos was trying to follow the tow from Charles as he went to the inside, and that really made things really hard." Despite his best performance so far coming to an end before the chequered flag, he's found a new level of confidence that should help him in the remaining races of the season:

"[The pace today is] a massive [positive]. 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."

F1 Stewards conducted an in-depth investigation, examining positioning and marshaling system data, video footage, and in-car evidence. The conclusion drawn was that the crash was a racing incident, with no predominant fault attributed to either driver, resulting in no penalties.

The incident had considerable consequences beyond just the collision itself. Both drivers lost vital championship points, impacting their standings and overall season momentum. Perez, who had demonstrated his best performance since the Chinese Grand Prix, saw his potential victory hopes dashed. The resulting Virtual Safety Car allowed McLaren’s Oscar Piastri to capitalize on the situation and secure victory by holding off Charles Leclerc, while George Russell of Mercedes clinched a podium finish in third place.

Commenting on his unexpected podium finish, George Russell said:

"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.

"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."