Sainz and Perez cleared over huge Azerbaijan Grand Prix crash · RaceFans

Carlos Sainz Jnr and Sergio Perez have avoided penalties over their collision on the penultimate lap of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

Both drivers retired from the race after they tangled on the run from turn two to turn three. The collision pitched both cars to the left, making heavy contact with a barrier.

The stewards stressed they reviewed “how the incident occurred, not the consequence.” Having spoken to both drivers, the stewards ruled each of them contributed to minor contact between their cars, which ultimately had more serious consequences.

“Sainz passed Perez after turn one and was completely ahead at the apex of turn two,” the stewards noted. “With a compromised exit by Sainz, Perez pulled to the inside of Sainz. Sainz reported that he was aware of Perez to his inside. Perez, being slightly behind, was in a better position to see the relative location of the cars. But as the two cars approached the wall on the right at the exit of Turn 2, they were about [one metre] apart.

“From this point and throughout the incident, neither driver steered erratically, and indeed both kept their steering very neutral.

“The stewards checked the driving line of the drivers on pervious laps. Sainz was on or close to his normal racing line, which forms a slight angle away from the right hand wall. From the exit to the point of contact he move approximately one car width further away from the wall. Perez moved approximately half a car width further away from the same wall, being more parallel to the right hand wall.

“It was thus apparent that while ahead, and having the right to drive his line, Sainz did move slightly towards a car that he had limited vision of. At the same time, there was nothing unusual about Perez’ line, but he could have done more to avoid the car that he had better view of.

“In conclusion, the stewards deem this to be a racing incident with neither driver being predominantly at fault, and take no further action.”

| Become a RaceFans supporter and go ad-free