Sergio Perez sets record straight on released footage of Sainz ‘confrontation’

Carlos Sainz and Sergio Perez do not agree about the cause of their Baku crash

Sergio Perez has rubbished claims he shoved Carlos Sainz after their Azerbaijan Grand Prix crash, adamant the videos on social media don’t tell the true story.

Perez and Sainz both lost out on a strong points-scoring result in Baku when they collided on the penultimate lap as they battled for a podium finish.

Sergio Perez denies shoving Carlos Sainz after Baku crash

Getting a run on Sainz out of Turn 2, Perez’s RB20 drew up alongside the Ferrari only for Sainz to move slightly over to the left and the two made contact, both cars hard into the wall and out of the race.

Perez let rip over the radio: “What the f**k is he doing man? What the f**k? Is he crazy or what? F***ing idiot.”

Climbing out of his stricken Red Bull, he went over to Sainz and that’s when on social media claimed he shoved the Spaniard’s head.

Previously unseen footage from Perez’s onboard camera shows the Mexican driver walking over to the Spaniard and leaning over him with one arm out in front of him.

It was suggested by one X user that Perez had the “audacity to push Carlos’ head”, although footage from the Ferrari driver’s onboard shows Perez was closer to the SF-24’s front wheel than he was to the driver.

Perez was asked about the video and whether or not he got physical with the Ferrari driver. He replied: “No.”

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“I was chatting to Carlos,” he explained. “As he was looking down, I was telling him… I was talking to him.

“I didn’t push his head. It looks worse on the video than it is.

“Carlos is one of my best mates in the drivers’ group, so I mean the last person that I would have liked to come together with is Carlos.”

As for the criticism he received on social media for the perceived incident, he said: “I have to say that the social media sometimes can be very toxic in that regard.

“So it’s best to stay away, because most of the time people don’t know exactly the truth, and the truth is that we both were extremely disappointed.

“[It’s] nothing like I hit his head, or some of the comments that I’ve seen. I have nothing to say about it. Carlos knows exactly.

“We actually walked together after back to the paddock, and we were just both super disappointed with ourselves after such a race, what we both did, we finished our weekend like that.”

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