‘Max Verstappen achieved what Sergio Perez could not’ verdict after Baku GP

Despite Sergio Perez putting in his best race weekend since Miami, one pundit, Jack Plooij, says Max Verstappen did what Perez “could not” in Baku – he avoided crashing.

Perez was the star of the Red Bull show around the streets of Baku as he not only out-qualified Verstappen for the first time in 33 race weekends, but he was also the only Red Bull driver in contention for the victory.

Sergio Perez told: You have to bring the car to the finish

Although much of the focus during the race was on Oscar Piastri and his battle with Charles Leclerc as the Ferrari driver repeatedly tried to take the lead, only for the McLaren driver to rebuff his efforts, Perez lurked in the background and looked set to pounce when Leclerc’s tyres fell off the cliff in the final laps.

He tried to make a move into Turn 1 on Lap 51 but was pushed slightly wide as Leclerc defended the inside line, which opened the door for Carlos Sainz to pounce and take third off the Red Bull driver.

Perez tried to fight back on the run down to Turn 3 but contact between the two resulted in both spearing into the wall, their race over. The stewards ruled it to be a racing incident with “neither driver being predominantly at fault”.

Their race-ending crash meant everyone who had been running P5 and down gained two positions with Max Verstappen one of those to benefit as he took the chequered flag in fifth place.

Plooij says that’s because he did what Perez could not, avoid a crash.

“Max was only concerned with what Sergio Pérez could not achieve: not crashing!” Plooij told Ziggo Sport Race Café. “Max brings that car home, period.

“You can want a lot, but you have to bring the car to the finish.”

McLaren’s gain and the F1 2024 title fight

👉 The updated Drivers’ and Constructors’ standings after the Azerbaijan Grand Prix

👉 The ultimate F1 2024 title calculator: How Lando Norris could beat Max Verstappen

Sergio Perez to ‘blame’ for race-ending crash

Adding to Perez’s misery, Plooij believes the blame for the Sainz/Perez crash was on Perez’s shoulders.

Although the stewards ruled that “Sainz did move slightly towards” the Mexican driver, the Dutch pundit claims Perez has only himself to blame as he took the wrong line.

“I blame Perez, because he chooses the wrong side,” he said. “He should have taken the inside on start-finish.”

British pundit and former F1 driver Jolyon Palmer agrees that Perez shoulders more of the blame but for a different reason.

“This is one that you could argue was a 50/50 racing incident,” he told F1 TV. “But if you look at the incident from Checo’s point of view, they are side-by-side on the entry to Turn 2, now Checo has the inside line.

“Perez has to use all of the space on the left-hand side. Sainz is quite well ahead at this point, he’s entitled to move across while there is still space for Checo to track.

“I think he’ll be disappointed that Perez simply held his ground trying to keep the slipstream with Charles Leclerc ahead. For me, Perez had more space and didn’t use it.”

Read next: Did Sergio Perez really ‘confront’ Carlos Sainz in unseen Azerbaijan Grand Prix footage?