Red Bull team principal Christian Horner insisted Sergio Perez "deserved more" after a "heartbreaking" crash denied him a place on the podium in Baku on Sunday. (More Motorsport News)
Perez, who made a brilliant start to the season only to struggle in recent months, looked set to regis♌ter his best finish since finishing third at the Chines𝔍e Grand Prix in April after comfortably holding P3 for much of the race.
However, Ferrari's Carlosꦗ Sainz snuck past him on the penultimate lap, and 🎃when the Mexican attempted to regain third place, the two tangled and hit the barrier, forcing them both out of the race.
That meant ꦬthat George Russell instead claimed the final podium spot alongside winner Oscar Piastri and Charles Leclerc.
"He deserved a lot more," Horner told Sky Sports. "He should've at the very least been on the p𒆙odium today.
"It was a magnificent race out at the front for so many laps. It w🐈as great to be in, it was ex⛎citing to be a part of, and it's just disappointing that it came to a close like that when it didn't need to.
"Unfortunately, he lost quite a bit of time on his out laps behind Alex Albon and then Lando [Norris] cost him dearly, which g🐲ave Oscar [Piastri] t💖rack position. 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 d♉ying laps of the race."
It was a tough♏ day for Red Bull all around, as Piastri's win coupled with Lando Norris crossing the line before Max Verstappen meant that McLaren leapfrogged them in the constructors'’ championship.
Red Bull are now 20 points behind McLaren ahead of the Singapore Grand Prix, ꦚand Horner admitted he was not happy with how the tide had turned.
"Very, very disappointing," he added. "[The c🔯rash] destroyed the race fo๊r Checo.
"It's 𝐆cost us a lot of damage and obviously vital points in the constructors' championshꩵip."
