David Coulthard gives his verdict on Carlos Sainz and Sergio Perez’s ‘underwhelming’ Baku crash

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McLaren driver Oscar Piastri delivered one of the best drives of the season to win the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

After starting on the front row alongside Charles Leclerc, he pulled off a spectacular overtaking move and then held off the Monegasque driver to achieve his second victory of the season.

However, the big talking point as the race came to an end was the collision between Red Bull driver Sergio Perez and Ferrari star Carlos Sainz.

Piastri was forced to finish the race behind the safety car much to the chagrin of Eddie Jordan, but it was the pressure he kept Leclerc under that ultimately led to the crash.

Leclerc followed Piastri for half of the race and eventually took too much out of his tyres, allowing Perez and Sainz to close up behind him.

Perez finally made his move down the mammoth first straight but couldn’t complete the overtake, putting him out of position and allowing Sainz to sneak past him.

However, the Spaniard’s exit from turn two wasn’t ideal and the pair were side by side before slowly drifting towards each other and making contact.

READ MORE: Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz’s life outside F1 from full name, girlfriend and height

David Coulthard was speaking on the Formula For Success Podcast and gave his verdict on whether one driver was to blame more than the other for the crash.

Sainz was denied a decent haul of points that would have helped Ferrari in their battle to win the Constructors’ Championship.

From a personal point of view, Perez desperately needed to finish on the podium after outperforming teammate Max Verstappen across the race weekend for the first since the last Grand Prix in Baku.

David Coulthard shares his thoughts on Carlos Sainz and Sergio Perez’s crash at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix

Reflecting on the incident, Coulthard said: “We’ve got to get straight into what was a really underwhelming result for both Ferrari and Red Bull, Carlos and Checo coming together.

“Now, it’s been analysed to the nth degree and some suggesting that there was movement to the left from Carlos and that’s where it led to the contact.

“I think this was just both of them needing a good look in the mirror because yes there’s no question that Carlos was moving slightly to the left as is the sort of normal thing you would do as you run along the straight.

READ MORE: Red Bull driver Sergio Perez’s life outside F1 from net worth to nickname

“But, Checo’s got a clear sight of him and should have reacted.

“I can only imagine at that point Checo was in overload mode trying to win back the position that he had lost, he just didn’t react quickly enough.

“So, I don’t think it’s clear-cut to blame one [driver], I think the two of them have cost themselves and their teams by just not giving each other enough space.

“On a straight as well, it’s one thing if it was a braking zone or the apex of a corner but you’ve done the difficult bit and you’re both just now accelerating.”

Sergio Perez under pressure at Red Bull in spite of signing new contract for 2025

Perez is now on a run of 12 Grand Prix without a podium finish, stretching all the way back to the Chinese Grand Prix.

Although he finished in the top three in the Sprint Race in Miami, his form has dipped significantly since then.

That’s not been entirely his own fault as Verstappen’s recent struggles have indicated.

However, Perez is still under pressure to save his seat despite signing a new deal ahead of the Canadian Grand Prix.

Sainz isn’t in the same position at Ferrari after the crash in Baku given his future with Williams is already sealed.

Every Red Bull driver’s contract is filled with various clauses that occasionally allow the driver to find a way out if they want, but primarily to allow the team to move on if required.

Perez fulfils some of those criteria already but no other driver in the Red Bull setup is sticking their hand up to replace him currently.

Suggestions that Perez could lose his seat after the race in Singapore are unlikely to come to fruition because the likes of Yuki Tsunoda and Daniel Ricciardo have struggled recently in an underperforming RB car.

However, that doesn’t mean Perez can afford to take it easy with the driver market set to spring into action once again at the start of next year.