Sergio Perez was understandably “super frustrated” with his late collision with Carlos Sainz in the Formula 1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
The Mexican Red Bull driver rediscovered his mojo at Baku this weekend, a venue where only Perez has won on multiple occasions.
After passing Sainz at the start, Perez maintained third for the majority of the race and made a late play for second on the penultimate lap.
However, an unsuccessful move on Charles Leclerc for second brought Sainz into the fold on the exit of Turn 2.
As both cars sought to gain the upper hand, Perez and Sainz touched, coming to a crashing halt and zero points.
“[I’m] super frustrated that we both ended our weekends like that for our teams,” Perez said post-race.
“It’s just a shame because when we exited Turn 2 there was a metre between the cars. And then within a metre 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?
“It all happened very quickly as he had more speed, and the way he moved meant he touched my front right-tyre quite quickly.”
Horner lays blame at Sainz’s door after Perez clash
Perez’s diplomatic, albeit frustrated view of the last-lap incident wasn’t shared by Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner.
Quick to defend his driver, Horner laid the blame at Sainz’s door for the crash, which proved very costly in terms of the Constructors’ Championship.
“[Perez] deserved a lot more, I was just looking at the replay and you can see Carlos start to drift across the circuit so very disappointing, he should at very least have been on the podium today,” Horner told Sky Sports F1.
“You have to look at what will be imposed for the following weekend [a penalty for Sainz], it has destroyed the race for Checo today, cost us a lot of damage and obviously vital points in the constructors’ championship.”
Perez was set to pick up at least 12 points had Sainz pipped him for third on the final lap and more than likely could have picked up 15 for third.
Instead, all Red Bull had to show for the afternoon was 10 points courtesy of Max Verstappen’s fifth-place finish.
McLaren meanwhile, picked up 38 points thanks to Oscar Piastri winning and Lando Norris picking up the fastest lap en route to fourth.
A huge swing occurred in the Constructors’ standings as a result.
McLaren (476) now leads Red Bull (456) by a margin of 20 points with seven rounds remaining.
