“It’s a shame we both ruined out weekends”: Sergio Perez reacts to Carlos Sainz incident in Baku

Sergio Perez described the incident between himself and Carlos Sainz during the Azerbaijan GP as both frustrating and unfortunate. Speaking to the media after the race, the Red Bull Racing driver emphasized that while he didn’t blame the Ferrari driver, the consequences were disastrous for both.

With just two laps remaining, Sainz drifted into Perez as the latter attempted to overtake him at Turn 2. The contact sent both cars into the barriers, ending the race for both drivers. Perez empathized with Sainz and expressed regret over how their races concluded.

The 34-year-old explained that Sainz seemed to be attempting to follow Charles Leclerc’'s tow and was unaware of his approach from the left. Perez added that the high speed made it difficult to judge the corner, leading to the unfortunate outcome.

“Yeah, I mean, I’m really super frustrated that we both ended up on weekends like that for our teams. It’s a disaster. And it’s just a shame, you know, because when we exited turn two, there was a meter between the cars. And then within a meter or two we ended up making contact. I think obviously I understand what Carlos was trying to do to follow Charles’ tow. But I was there, you know, and it all happened very quickly. Cause he was having more speed and the way he moved meant that he touched my front right tire quite quickly,” Perez said.

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Sergio Perez expressed empathy towards Carlos Sainz following their on-track incident during the Azerbaijan GP

Following a discussion about the incident, Sergio Perez expressed his belief that Carlos Sainz was unaware of his presence. The 34-year-old driver viewed the collision as unfortunate, particularly considering the mutual respect and ample space maintained by both drivers after exiting the previous corner. Despite these precautions, the contact occurred just a few meters later.

Asked about the conversation he had with Sainz after the incident, Perez said,

“Yeah, basically at the time, I just felt like he didn’t realize that I was there. And like I say, what disappoints me more is that we exited Turn 2 with a meter between the cars, and we still, within 2 meters, end up making contact."

When asked about the multiple run-ins he had with Sainz throughout the Baku race weekend, the Red Bull Racing driver added,

“Yeah, it’s a shame, it’s a shame, you know, because Carlos is definitely the last guy I want to have an incident with. It’s just a shame that we both ruined our weekend.”

Following Perez’s retirement and Max Verstappen’s fifth-place finish, Red Bull Racing has now been overtaken by McLaren in the Constructor's Championship. Even if the Mexican had managed to stay in the race, Oscar Piastri’s victory would still have helped the Papaya Orange team leapfrog Red Bull. Red Bull now trails McLaren by 20 points and has slipped to second in the championship standings. Ferrari is currently 31 points behind Red Bull.