By Sergio Silva
Sep 15, 2024, 9:06 PM EDT
A new voice from the Red Bull team came out to question Carlos Sainz Jr.’s maneuver that ended in an accident with Sergio “Checo” Pérez causing both drivers to retire at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, where both had a chance of fighting for a podium place.
The energy drink team’s advisor, Helmut Marko, joined those criticizing the Spanish Ferrari driver for his behavior on Sunday on lap 50 of the race that ended up being won by McLaren’s Australian, Oscar Piastriahead of Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) and George Russell (Mercedes).
“I see (Carlos) Sainz Jr. making a rather abrupt move to the left, which then triggered this accident. It was completely unnecessary to cause something like that two laps before the end.”commented the former Austrian Formula 1 driver.
The Red Bull advisor also pointed out that the Mexican, who had been in very good shape up until the time of the crash and had shown signs of recovering from the bad run of results he had been having, was in a better position at the time of the collision with the Spaniard.
“Checo Pérez came out much better and, of course, did not voluntarily step aside. Sainz stuck to his guns, but both of them have I don’t know how many Grand Prix under their belts. If something like this happens to a rookie, it could be,” he added, questioning the unfortunate situation.
There will be no penalty for either of them.
The stewards of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix have determined that the crash between Carlos Sainz Jr. and Sergio “Checo” Pérez on lap 50 of this Sunday’s race can be considered a “racing accident” and that there will be no punishment for either driver.
“The stewards consider this to be a racing incident in which neither driver is at fault, and they are not taking any further action”they announced this Sunday hours after the accident that left both the Spaniard and the Mexican out of the race.
“Although Sainz was ahead and had the right to follow his line, he moved slightly towards a car of which he had a limited view. At the same time, there was nothing unusual about Perez’s line, but he could have done more to avoid the car he had a better view of.the commissioners determined.
Race officials also said they chose not to punish the action because: “Throughout the incident, neither driver was driving erratically and in fact both kept their steering very neutral.”.
Continue reading:
– Red Bull team principal Christian Horner points to Carlos Sainz Jr. after clash with Sergio “Checo” Pérez in Azerbaijan
– Carlos Sainz Jr. defends himself after his crash with Sergio “Checo” Pérez at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix
– Red Bull reveals its plan to get Sergio “Checo” Pérez and Max Verstappen back to their best this season