Karun Chandhok gives his verdict for who was at fault for Sergio Perez and Carlos Sainz’s Baku crash

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One of the most enthralling battles for the lead of a Formula 1 race came to a dramatic conclusion in Baku.

The Azerbaijan Grand Prix will be remembered for Oscar Piastri’s second F1 victory but also for his incredibly dogged defensive performance.

However, the battle between the drivers behind Piastri ended with two drivers in the barriers and several drivers picking up an unexpected number of points at the end of the Grand Prix.

Carlos Sainz had been lurking behind the top three drivers for most of the race but when his teammate Charles Leclerc’s tyres went off in the final laps, he was dragged into the battle with Sergio Perez.

Sainz was very briefly ahead of the Mexican after he lost momentum coming out of the first corner while trying to overtake Leclerc.

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

However, Sainz and Perez then made contact and both immediately ended up in the wall and commentating on the race for Sky Sports F1, Karun Chandhok shared who he thought was at fault for the collision.

It was an important race for Ferrari and Red Bull as they looked to try and fend off McLaren in the Constructors’ Championship.

Unfortunately, they both lost even more ground with the two drivers failing to take the chequered flag and with seven race weekends left, McLaren are now in a fantastic position to win their first team championship since 1998.

Karun Chandhok gives his verdict on Sergio Perez and Carlos Sainz’s crash at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix

As the two cars came out of turn two and then hit each other, Chandhok said: “Wow, I think Perez feels really aggrieved there. Norris is up to fourth, Russell into third.

“Sergio Perez in the slipstream behind Charles Leclerc, he got a very, very good run, the Sauber got out of the way, so Leclerc didn’t have that slipstream.

“Perez got in front, Leclerc got back at him down the inside, no contact there.

“But Perez lost momentum, Sainz got in front and now at this point, Sainz had a sniff around the outside of Perez, ended up on the dirty part of the track.

“Now watch, does he move over on the left? I feel like he moved slightly left and Perez moved slightly right, just looking from the helicopter view.

“It did feel like the two cars were both moving.”

Sergio Perez feeling the pressure at Red Bull after failing to finish on the podium once again

Perez hasn’t finished in the top three of an F1 race since the Miami Sprint and looked on course to finally break that streak until his accident.

He wasn’t running quite as close to Leclerc as he would have liked when the Monegasque was in Piastri’s DRS zone lap after lap.

It meant that his tyres looked in better condition to take 2^nd place but failing to overtake Leclerc going into turn one compromised his exit and once he made contact with Sainz trying to re-take 3^rd his race was over.

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

Clauses in Perez’s contract mean he could lose his seat at any moment if Red Bull wanted to make a change.

The break after the Singapore Grand Prix could see Perez moved on although it appears unlikely given the lack of a standout option within the Red Bull roster.

Helmut Marko has promised to provide an update on Liam Lawson’s future very soon although that’s expected to relate to RB and Daniel Ricciardo rather than the main Red Bull team.