Perez Addresses Social Media Storm After Sainz Helmet Push

Friday, 20 September 2024 at 22:00

Sergio Perez responded to social media outrage after a video of his confrontation with Carlos Sainz surfaced following their Baku crash.

Red Bull Racing F1 driver Sergio Perez could have finished the 2024 Azerbaijan Grand Prix on the podium, but instead, he ended up with empty hands and a huge crash bill after colliding with Carlos Sainz on the penultimate lap of the race.

The Mexican driver was very frustrated, which could be heard on his team radio right after the incident, shown on the live broadcast. He said:

"What the f*** is he doing, man? What the f***? Is he crazy, or what? F****** idiot!"

Following the Grand Prix, different video angles of the incident started surfacing on social media, one of them showing what happened when Red Bull's F1 driver got out of his car.

yoyo

@williamssainz

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it's really painful to share this but checo did, in fact, push carlos' head back after their collision

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In this footage, Sergio Perez seems to be pushing Sainz's helmet, which outraged many fans who believed it was too aggressive and potentially dangerous as the 34-year-old couldn't tell if the Ferrari driver was hurt.

Speaking to the media ahead of the 2024 Singapore Grand Prix (the following race), the Red Bull Racing F1 driver clarified what happened:

"I was chatting to Carlos as he was looking down. I was telling him I was talking to him, I didn't push him. It looks worse on the video than it is."

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

Sainz shared details of his conversation with Perez after the collision. The two had enough time to discuss what happened as they sat for 20 minutes next to each other during their medical checks.

According to the Ferrari driver, the two ultimately reached the conclusion that they both messed up, and there are no hard feelings now. Perez added:

"We've turned the page, and hopefully, both of us can have a tremendous race [in Singapore]. [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 and actually, we 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."