Perez full of disbelief after Sainz crash: 'That disappoints me the most'

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Sergio Perez full of disbelief after crash with Carlos Sainz in Baku
15 September at 15:47
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  • Nicole Mulder

Sergio Perez was on his way to a podium finish in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, but the Red Bull Racing driver became embroiled in a tight battle with Ferrari drivers Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz in the closing stages. A crash with the latter ended the race for both drivers. Perez looks back on the incident.

Perez full of disbelief after crash with Sainz

Perez says he is physically fine, but he is suffering a mental blow. "I'm super frustrated that our weekend both ended up like that for our teams. It's a disaster. And it's just a shame, 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," Perez explained to the media present in Baku, including GPblog.

"I understand what Carlos was trying to do, to follow Charles' tow. But I was there. It all happened very quickly. As he was having more speed, the way he moved meant that he touched my front right tyre quite quickly," the Mexican continued.

"I just felt like he didn't realise that I was there. And like I say, what disappoints me the more is that we exited turn two with a metre between the cars and we still, within two metres, end up making contact. It's a shame, because Carlos is definitely the last guy I want to have an incident with. And it's just a shame that we both ruined our weekends," he added.

"It makes me feel super sad for my team. McLaren overtook us in the championship. But the positive thing is that the pace is back. I think with the upgrades we have brought in contention, and that's something we can be happy with," Perez concluded.

This article has been created in collaboration with Matt Gretton