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Sergio Perez believes the collision with Sainz in Azerbaijan was the case of “wrong time, wrong moment”
After a surprising qualifying session on Saturday which saw championship contenders Lando Norris out in Q1 and Max Verstappen down in P6, we knew we were in for an exciting Azerbaijan Grand Prix. At the front, Oscar Piastri and Charles Leclerc didn’t disappoint after a nail-biting duel that came down to the wire. However, Sergio Perez and Carlos Sainz may have caused the biggest talking point of the race.
With a couple of laps to go, Sainz cleared Perez and attempted a move on his struggling teammate. When he failed to capitalise on Leclerc’s poor tyres, Sainz got a poor exit from Turn 2 with the Spaniard and Perez colliding soon after.
Sparks fly on the streets of Baku! ??
This moment between Sainz and Perez effectively ended the race, and cost both the chance of a podium!#F1 #AzerbaijanGP pic.twitter.com/iR6UTynvpv
— Formula 1 (@F1) September 15, 2024
Following the chequered flag, the Red Bull driver gave his perspective on the incident with Sainz. He told Sky Sports F1:
“I’m lost [for] words to say. It’s a disaster for the championship for both of us to end up our weekend like this, where we definitely have a lot more on the table. It’s a bit of a disaster.”
He also referred to the incident as a “real shame,” and that it was a case of “wrong time, wrong moment.”
As McLaren finished in P1 (Piastri) and P4 (Norris), and Red Bull in P5 (Verstappen) with Perez having retired, the Papaya team took the lead in the constructors’ championship. Considering Red Bull’s domination last season, as well as the team’s strong start to 2024, this will be a bitter pill to swallow for the reigning world champions.
Sainz: It was a “very unfortunate ending”
During his post-race interviews, Sainz also expressed his disappointment regarding the conclusion of his race. The Ferrari driver talked to Sky Sports F1 about the incident, saying:
“Honestly, a very unfortunate ending. First of all, I’m glad that Checo and I are ok. But yeah, I drove a solid race. I was very quick out there. I was coming back on the top three, fastest man on track for the last 20 laps. But unfortunately, after passing Checo into Turn 1 and after fighting Charles into Turn 2, there was a very unexpected contact exiting Turn 2 that I honestly still don’t understand how it happened.”
He continued, “[I] didn’t do any erratic manoeuvres, any aggressive moving on Checo or anything like that and we for some reason that I don’t understand still – we collided, and that was the end.”
Both drivers reported to the stewards after the race to hear of any potential penalties. After deliberation, the stewards deemed “this to be a racing incident, with neither driver being predominately at fault.” As a result, neither driver was penalised.
New document: Doc 64 – Decision – Car 11 – Alleged incident with Car 55
Published on 15-09-2024 17:27 CEThttps://t.co/LGxdmiRoRB#F1 #Formula1 #FIA #AzerbaijanGP ?? pic.twitter.com/w10LLag7Kw— FIA F1 Documents Bot (@fiadocsbot) September 15, 2024
Feature Image Credit: @F1 on X