The F1 stewards have ruled the Sainz and Perez crash at Azerbaijan GP was a ‘racing incident’ after both drivers were summoned following their late-race collision.
The 2024 Azerbaijan Grand Prix ended in heartbreak for Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz and Red Bull’s Sergio Perez as the two drivers collided on the penultimate lap while battling for a podium finish.
The incident, which occurred on the long straight between turns 2 and 3, saw both cars slam into the barriers, bringing out a virtual safety car and ultimately deciding the outcome of the race.
Perez, who had been running in second place behind race leader Oscar Piastri, made a move on the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc for the lead but was unable to make the pass stick. Sainz, who was running third, seized the opportunity and passed the Mexican, setting up a thrilling conclusion to the race.
As the two drivers approached turn 2, the Ferrari appeared to drift slightly to the left making contact with the Red Bull. The impact sent both Sainz and Perez crashing into the wall at high speed, with the latter immediately expressing his frustration over team radio, labeling the former an “idiot.”
The F1 stewards immediately summoned both drivers to explain their versions of events, with Sainz maintaining that he had done nothing wrong and that the collision was simply a racing incident.
“I was attacking Charles into Turn 2 and then I exited Turn 2,” Sainz explained. “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.”
Perez, on the other hand, felt that there was plenty of room between the two cars and that the contact was unnecessary.
“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,” Perez said. “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.”
The F1 stewards ultimately ruled the crash was a racing incident, with neither driver being predominantly at fault. The decision was based on an analysis of the drivers’ lines and the limited visibility Sainz had of Perez’s car.
A statement from the stewards read: “As the two cars approached the wall on the right at the exit of Turn 2, they were about 1m apart. From this point and throughout the incident, neither driver steered erratically, and indeed both kept their steering very neutral.
“The Stewards checked the driving line of the drivers on pervious laps. Sainz was on or close to his normal racing line, which forms a slight angle away from the right-hand wall.
“From the exit to the point of contact he move approximately one car width further away from the wall. Perez moved approximately half a car width further away from the same wall, being more parallel to the right hand wall.
“It was thus apparent that while ahead, and having the right to drive his line, Sainz did move slightly towards a car that he had limited vision of. At the same time, there was nothing unusual about Perez’ line, but he could have done more to avoid the car that he had better view of.
“In conclusion, the Stewards deem this to be a racing incident with neither driver being predominantly at fault, and take no further action.”
The Sainz and Perez crash at Azerbaijan GP proved to be pivotal for McLaren who took the constructors championship lead from Red Bull with a whooping 20-point gap. Piastri cruised to his second victory of the season, with Leclerc finishing second and George Russell completing the podium for Mercedes.
The incident also had implications on the drivers championship, with Piastri and teammate Lando Norris closing the gap to Verstappen at the top of the standings, while Sainz and Perez missed out on valuable points.
