Max Verstappen asserts Sergio Perez not at fault over crash with Carlos Sainz in Azerbaijan

Max Verstappen made it clear that Sergio Perez had driven a good race before his collision with Carlos Sainz in Baku.

Max Verstappen asserts Sergio Perez not at fault over crash with Carlos Sainz in Azerbaijan

Sergio Perez, Max Verstappen, and Carlos Sainz (images via IMAGO)

Red Bull had a difficult weekend at the Azerbaijan GP. Milton Keynes lost the lead in the standings to McLaren after Sergio Perez retired from the race due to a major collision with Carlos Sainz. However, Max Verstappen insists that the Mexican driver was not the culprit over this incident.

Verstappen claimed that Sergio Perez had driven a great race. The Dutch driver even pointed out that Perez was fighting for victory against Oscar Piastri and Charles Leclerc. In fact, Checo was just a couple of seconds away from the lead during the time of the crash.

Checo did a great race, he was fighting for the win.
Max Verstappen told DAZN
YouTube video

Max Verstappen addressed the crash. The reigning world champion believed that Perez wasn’t to be blamed for incident. As such, the Red Bull driver seemingly hinted that Sainz might’ve been at fault instead.

FS Video
It’s unbelievable what happened there in that lap with Checo, I don’t think it was his fault, he was doing a great race.
Max Verstappen explained
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Max Verstappen claims Red Bull ‘won’t give up’ on 2024 title

After the race, Verstappen reckoned that it was a positive outing for Red Bull despite losing the championship lead. However, it is clear that the team is facing the pressure from McLaren. Nevertheless, Max Verstappen made it clear that the team was not going to give up on its title hopes. As the reigning world champion is confident that the team will be quick again.

Sergio Perez and Max Verstappen
Sergio Perez and Max Verstappen (via IMAGO)
We won’t give up as a team, there're still a lot of races, I’m very confident there will be race where we can be quick again.
Max Verstappen stated
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Certainly, Max Verstappen and Red Bull need to bounce back in the upcoming races. The Dutch driver still has a healthy lead of 59 points. Although, a couple of bad races could put Verstappen on the backfoot against Norris and McLaren.