Home Sport Carlos Sainz and Sergio Perez involved in HUGE high-speed crash at Azerbaijan GP as Ferrari and Red Bull driver collide into the wall one lap from the finish in Baku

Carlos Sainz and Sergio Perez involved in HUGE high-speed crash at Azerbaijan GP as Ferrari and Red Bull driver collide into the wall one lap from the finish in Baku

Sport — 16/09/2024 · 0 Comment

Carlos Sainz and Sergio Perez‘s Azerbaijan Grand Prix came to a devastating end just one lap before the end after the pair collided into the wall in a high-speed crash.

Sainz, Perez and Charles Leclerc jostled for the final two podium places as McLaren’s Oscar Piastri pulled further ahead into the lead.

Leclerc got past the duo and was on track for second as Sainz pulled off an audacious overtake on Perez.

However, the two came together when Sainz appeared to turn into Perez and forced both into the wall as debris flew everywhere.

Perez’s onboard camera showed the Mexican’s fury at his rival as he angrily gestured in Sainz’s direction. 

Carlos Sainz and Sergio Perez went into the wall late in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix

Perez was left fuming after he came away from Baku with a disappointing DNF result

Sainz looked to be on track for a podium finish and valuable points for Ferrari but it wasn’t to be

 ‘What the f***!’ Perez said over the radio.

‘Is he crazy?’

Mercedes driver George Russell, who ended up finishing third as a result of Perez and Sainz’s collision, felt the officials could have acted quicker on the crash.

‘That was pretty crazy,’ Russell said.

‘I was shocked the VSC (virtual safety car) didn’t come out sooner.’

Leclerc described his Ferrari teammate’s late disaster as a ‘huge shame’ in what was ‘not a great day for the team’.

Piastri’s victory in Baku put further distance between him and Sainz in the driver’s standings as the Australian sits in fourth on 222 points, 38 ahead of the Ferrari ace who is bound for Williams next season.

As for Perez he sits in eighth on 143 points.

Sergio Perez has not recorded a podium finish for Red Bull since the Japanese GP in April

Carlos Sainz will depart Ferrari at the end of the season, with Lewis Hamilton to replace him

However, Perez’s DNF was particularly damaging for Red Bull in the constructor’s standings.

Piastri’s victory and Lando Norris’ fourth-place finish helped McLaren sit on top of the constructor’s standings for the first time in a decade.

McLaren hold a slender 20-point lead over Red Bull, while Ferrari remain in close proximity just 31 points behind the energy drink team.