Fred Vasseur (Ferrari): Opinion on the Sainz/Pérez crash / Formula 1

From a glass-half-empty perspective, Baku was ultimately not worth the trip for Ferrari: Charles Leclerc was unable to convert his fourth pole position in Azerbaijan into a win and finished a disappointing second behind Oscar Piastri, while Carlos Sainz wrecked his Ferrari in the battle against Sergio Pérez.

At the Ferrari command post, team boss Fred Vasseur's blood ran cold as he watched the events of the road GP shortly before the end: Sainz had shown good tire management and was moving closer to the top in fourth place, and the Madrilenian rightly sensed a podium finish. Then came the three-way battle between Leclerc, Sainz and Pérez, which culminated in two broken cars belonging to the latter two drivers.

Fred Vasseur says of the hairy scene: “First of all, I'm relieved that the pilots are OK, because it was a serious crash. The problem was that both tried to catch Charles' slipstream. Checo had plenty of room to go to the left, but he didn't. They touched each other, but there was still two and a half meters of space to the left.”

The FIA's rule enforcers criticize: Neither of the two drivers can be held excessively responsible, the proceedings have been discontinued.

Charles Leclerc tried several times to catch up with leader Oscar Piastri at the end. But that didn't work. Fred Vasseur says: “25 to 30 laps in the slipstream of your opponent, that inevitably takes its toll on the tires.” The man in front obviously has it easier with the airflow free of his racing car.

“Both were at the limit and both attacked more than we expected. Ultimately, Charles' tires deteriorated quite significantly towards the end and he was no longer able to keep up with Piastri.”

Azerbaijan GP, ​​Baku City Circuit

01. Oscar Piastri (AUS), McLaren, 1:32:58.007 h
02. Charles Leclerc (MC), Ferrari, +10.910 sec.
03. George Russell (GB), Mercedes, +31.328
04. Lando Norris (GB), McLaren, +36.143
05. Max Verstappen (NL), Red Bull Racing, +1:17.098 min
06. Fernando Alonso (E), Aston Martin, +1:25.468
07. Alex Albon (T), Williams, +1 lap, +1:27.396
08. Franco Colapinto (RA), Williams, +1:29.541
09. Lewis Hamilton (GB), Mercedes, +1:32.401
10. Oliver Bearman (GB), Haas, +1:33.127
11. Nico Hülkenberg (D), Haas, +1:33.465
12. Pierre Gasly (F), Alpine, +1:57.189
13. Daniel Ricciardo (AUS), Racing Bulls, +2:26.907
14. Guanyu Zhou (RCH), Clean, +2:28.841
15. Esteban Ocon (F), Alpine, +1 lap
16. Valtteri Bottas (FIN), Sauber, +1 lap
Out of
Carlos Sainz (E), Ferrari, crash
Sergio Pérez (MEX), Red Bull Racing, accident
Lance Stroll (CDN), Aston Martin, brakes
Yuki Tsunoda (J), Racing Bulls, Crash

World Championship standings (after 17 of 24 Grands Prix and 3 of 6 sprints)

driver
01. Verstappen 313 points
02. Norris254
03. Leclerc235
04. Piastri 222
05.Sainz184
06. Hamilton166
07. Russell143
08. Perez 143
09.Alonso-58
10. Walk 24
11. Hulkenberg 22
12. Tsunoda22
13. Albon12
14. Ricciardo12
15. Gasly 8
16. Oliver Bearman (GB) 7
17. Magnussens 6
18. Ocon 5
19. Colapinto 4
20. Zhou-0
21. Logan Sargeant (USA) 0
22. Bottas-0

Constructors' Cup
02. McLaren 476 points
01. Red Bull Racing 456
03. Ferrari 425
04. Mercedes-Benz 309
05. Aston-Martin 82
06. Racing Bulls 34
07. Haas-29
09. Williams 16
08. Alpine 13
10. Clean 0