The penultimate lap of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in Baku witnessed a dramatic turn of events as Carlos Sainz of Ferrari and Sergio Perez driving for Red Bull collided, leading to both drivers crashing into the barriers. Both cars, the Ferrari SF-24 and the Red Bull RB20, were forced to retire from the race, extinguishing any hopes either driver had of securing a podium finish.
The crash, which came as a pivotal point in the race, prompted an immediate investigation by F1 stewards. Their detailed examination concluded that both drivers maintained steady steering with no sudden movements. However, there was a minor shift from Sainz toward Perez. Nonetheless, it was determined that while Perez’s positioning played a role, he was not primarily at fault. The stewards ruled the incident as a racing mishap with no single driver to blame, thus no penalties were issued.
The championship implications of the crash were significant. Both Sainz and Perez missed out on vital points that could have bolstered their standings. Particularly for Perez, it was a severe blow as it cut short what had been his strongest performance of the season. In the aftermath, Mercedes driver George Russell seized the opportunity, securing a third-place finish amid the chaos.
Following the crash, both Sainz and Perez were taken to the medical center, where an unexpected interaction unfolded. Sainz described their 20-minute wait as “awkward” yet filled with a certain humor. “We were awkwardly sat next to each other for 20 minutes in the medical centre, both with a heart rate monitor and controlling our vitals,” Sainz recounted. “We were looking at each other and saying: ‘Mate, what the f*** happened there?’ And we were like: ‘I don’t know. But I promise I didn’t do anything bad to you, Checo. I didn’t close you off. I didn’t do anything.’”
The exchanges between the two drivers were a blend of analysis and incredulity at their mutual misfortune. They marveled at how both had managed to miss out on a podium finish. “We were having this dialogue and trying to analyse what happened. And suddenly, after these 20 minutes, we were like: ‘This sport is so s**t sometimes. How can we be here and missing out on the podium? We had the podium,’” Sainz elaborated. Reflecting on the near miss, he continued, “Charles was dying on his hard tires out there. We were probably both going to have a go at him. And we were both sitting there like: ‘How on earth did we manage to not finish in the podium?’” Ultimately, Sainz emphasized that the incident ended on a light note: “It was a podium coming – and in the end we kind of joked about it, so no hard feelings with each other.”
Sergio Perez also expressed his disappointment, calling the crash “just wrong moves at the wrong time.” He added, “The finishing a race like that was really disappointing.” Post-race, Perez echoed Sainz’s sentiments about the incident being a mutual blunder and highlighted the shared realization once their helmets were off: “Once we took our helmets off, we realised that we both screwed it up.”
Despite the crash and the initial tension, the camaraderie and mutual respect between Sainz and Perez remained intact. Their ability to joke about the mishap underscores the unpredictable and often harsh realities of motorsport. As they left Baku, both drivers were undoubtedly left pondering the “what-ifs” of a race that might have seen them standing on the podium instead of sitting side-by-side in a medical room, their racing ambitions curtailed by a split-second incident.
