Sirotkin slapped with Spanish GP grid penalty for Perez clash

Sergey Sirotkin will serve a three-place grid penalty at his next Formula 1 race after colliding with Sergio Perez during the opening lap of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in an incident which saw the Williams driver retire from the race.

The Russian driver missed his braking point into Turn 2 and slammed into the rear of Perez’s Force India. The clash triggered an incident seconds later which saw the Williams driver stuck in between Renault’s Nico Hulkenberg and McLaren’s Fernando Alonso which broke his front left suspension and forced him into retirement, while Alonso suffered a double puncture but was able to continue.

Sirotkin has been punished for hitting the rear of Perez, who escaped the incident with minimal damage to go on to finish on the podium at the Baku City Circuit, and the rookie F1 driver will be hit with a three-place grid penalty for the Spanish Grand Prix. The Russian driver has also picked up his first two penalty points of his F1 career.

“The Stewards examined video evidence,” an FIA statement confirmed “The driver of car 35 drove into the back of car 11. The Stewards determined that the driver of car 35 was wholly to blame for the collision.”