Race management exonerates Sainz and Perez after accident at the Azerbaijan GP that ended the race

Carlos Sainz and Sergio Perez were exonerated by the race stewards of the Azerbaijan GP following their accident at the end of the race in Baku.

As the two were battling for third place on the exit of turn two on the penultimate lap, a collision occurred that resulted in both cars crashing through the barriers and effectively requiring a safety car to be deployed for the remainder of the race.

After recent form problems, Perez was back in top form on the streets of Baku and had
sat at the rear of the leading duo Oscar Piastri and Charles Leclerc for much of the second half of the race, before Leclerc's leading Ferrari lost speed because its hard tires gave up the ghost.

This allowed both Perez and Sainz to get closer and put themselves on a collision course, ending each other's race prematurely.

After speaking to both drivers and studying the data of the incident and the respective driving lines of the previous laps, the race stewards concluded that no further action was required and described the accident as a “racing accident” in which “neither driver was predominantly at fault”.

Perez's frustration was clear as he swore over the team radio after the accident, while Sainz defended his position before a meeting with race control.

“(It was) a big accident, unfortunately I hit the barrier and the concrete wall straight away. To be honest I was very fast behind Charles and Checo and I also saved my tires. Yes, I overtook Checo when he was fighting with Charles,” Sainz said.

“I think we then came out of turn two. I drove my normal racing line. I didn't do any strange maneuvers or anything. And for some reason that I still don't understand, we collided and yes, I think he had a lot of space to the left. I didn't do any strange moves, but that's racing.”

Sainz's account of events was in stark contrast to Red Bull's view: Helmut Marko blamed the Spaniard.

“I see that Sainz made a rather abrupt left turn, which then caused this crash. It was completely unnecessary to provoke something like that with two laps to go. Perez came out much better and of course did not voluntarily make way,” he said.

“He stuck to his line, but the two of them have I don't know how many Grand Prix races under their belt. If something like that happens to a beginner, maybe. It cost us an incredible number of points and, as I said, the whole thing will be even more difficult for Singapore.”

In response to Christian Horner's call for race control to take action, Ferrari colleague Fred Vasseur told Motorsport.com: “If Horner is expecting Carlos, then I expect a grid penalty for Checo. He had plenty of space on the left side.”

Perez was more measured in his comments about the gathering, especially given that he had used a swear word immediately afterward.

“We're super frustrated that both our teams have had weekends like this. It's just a shame because when we came out of turn two there was a meter between the cars and then there was contact within a meter or two,” he said.

“Of course I understand what Carlos was trying to do, which was to follow Charles's pull, but I was there and everything happened very quickly because he was faster and his movements caused him to touch my right front tire quite quickly.

“At that point I just had the feeling he didn't know I was there. It makes me super sad for my team. McLaren overtook us in the championship but the positive is that the pace is back.”