Stewards deliver Sainz verdict after Perez close call

Carlos Sainz has been issued a warning after impeding Sergio Perez during free practice two in Baku.

In the final minutes of the session, Sainz slowed through Turn 13 which caused Perez to take avoiding action.

The pair were summoned to the stewards for a hearing where Sainz was delivered a warning, rather than a grid drop, which would have been a more likely outcome if the incident took place during a qualifying session.

In the hearing, Sainz explained to the stewards that he was distracted behind the wheel by a series of alarms on the car.

“Impeding in free practice is not normally investigated by the Stewards unless it is considered dangerous,” the stewards explained. 

“This was investigated because the driver of Car 11, Perez, had to lift and move to the right at a high-speed section of the track and could have been potentially dangerous.

In the hearing the driver of Car 55, Sainz, admitted that he had seen Perez behind him, and the Stewards noted that his team did warn him, but because he was distracted by a variety of alarms on the car, he misjudged the closing speed. 

“The Stewards noted that he did start to avoid the car behind, but fractionally late. Perez stated that while he did have to lift, he had good visibility of the incident throughout and that it did not end up being particularly dangerous.”

Perez and Sainz ended the session in second and fourth respectively.