Sergio Perez warned about “repair bill” as he’s blamed for Carlos Sainz smash
Reminder issued to Sergio Perez about damage to Red Bull
Sergio Perez has been blamed for the incident in Azerbaijan with Carlos Sainz by Mark Webber.
Red Bull’s Perez and Ferrari’s Sainz tangled on the penultimate lap of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, prematurely ending both of their races.
They had been fighting for a podium finish, and came to blows after Perez failed to overtake Charles Leclerc for P2.
“Charles is defending well. Sergio gets a poor run out of Turn 1,” ex-F1 driver Webber analysed for Channel 4.
“Carlos then has a run on his teammate, and brakes on the outside. He runs a little bit wide.
“[Carlos] is wide, slow on traction out of Turn 2. Charles has gone.
“[Sainz and Perez] are fighting over the slipstream and there’s contact.
“It is a pathetic touch, an absolutely pathetic touch, with serious ramifications!
“Sergio is trying to get across into the tow. At this speed, it’s fine margins.
“Sergio’s repair bill this year is impressive.”
Webber was asked if more of the blame must be shouldered by Perez.
“He’s got more of the Ferrari in view,” he said.
“When you’re [looking in] the mirror, you’re not quite sure where he should be.
“Sergio should have given him more room to get down that straight.
“He was in great shape on tyres, and finishing the race quick.”
Perez’s late DNF took away a rare chance to finish ahead of Max Verstappen, who struggled to fifth.
The more serious ramification for Red Bull is that the loss of Perez’s points aided McLaren in overtaking them to lead the constructors’ championship.
The stewards investigated the Perez v Sainz crash but ruled it was a racing incident.
Sainz denied making an “aggressive” manoeuvre.
James was a sports journalist at Sky Sports for a decade covering everything from American sports, to football, to F1.
