Horner rues ‘heartbreaking’ Baku crash that ‘destroyed the race’ for podium-bound Perez

Christian Horner insisted that Sergio Perez "deserved a lot more" in Baku before a dramatic crash with Carlos Sainz on the penultimate lap ended his race in disastrous fashion.

The Mexican was agonisingly close to claiming his best race finish since the Chinese Grand Prix before he tangled with Sainz’s Ferrari on Lap 50, leading to neither driver finishing the race.

READ MORE: ‘It’s very disappointing’ – Sainz and Perez give their views on dramatic late-race crash in Baku

Perez was comfortably in P3 for the majority of the afternoon and frequently came close to attacking Charles Leclerc for second place, but a late charge from Sainz forced the Red Bull driver onto the defence.

The Spaniard managed to pass Perez on the penultimate lap, but as the latter tried to sneak back past, the two tangled and slammed into the barrier, bringing out the virtual safety car.

Speaking to Sky Sports F1 after the race, Team Principal Horner said his driver “deserved a lot more”, adding that “he should’ve at the very least been on the podium today”.

He continued: “Very, very disappointing. It’s destroyed the race for Checo today. It’s cost us a lot of damage and obviously vital points in the constructors’ championship.

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“It was a magnificent race out at the front for so many laps. It was great to be in, it was exciting to be a part of, and it’s just disappointing that it came to a close like that when it didn’t need to.”

Perez has suffered a difficult run of form in recent races as issues with the car have come to light, but he experienced a remarkable resurgence over the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, so much so that Horner believed that he could have won.

“Unfortunately, he lost quite a bit of time on his out laps behind Alex Albon and then Lando [Norris] cost him dearly, which gave Oscar [Piastri] track position,” he said. “I think without that he would’ve won the race today.

"It’s one of those things that’s very heartbreaking for him and the team that so much effort goes in to lose a podium in the dying laps of the race.”

Despite his DNF, his performance appeared stronger on average than his team mate Max Verstappen, who crossed the line in fifth behind his championship rival Norris.

READ MORE: ‘We paid the price’ – Verstappen reflects on detrimental car issues that impacted Baku race

Discussing the differences in their confidence in Baku, Horner explained that Perez “found a good rhythm and set-up” and had a “very quick” car for the race.

“I think we might’ve introduced some things with Max’s car that didn’t work as well, and I think we probably damaged the tyres quite a lot fighting in that group for such a long period of time,” he added. “If you look at George Russell’s stint, he started it very, very slowly and then just builds into it and has a better tyre at the end. So yeah, really very frustrating.”