Christian Horner makes stance clear after crash involving Sergio Perez and Carlos Sainz at Azerbaijan GP

It was disappointing for the duo, who had both been in contention to claim glory prior to the incident.

And Horner, speaking to Sky Sports, has admitted he's disappointed for Perez after his hopes of victory were dashed - while also blaming Sainz.

“He deserved a lot more. Carlos drifts across the circuit," he said.

“Very disappointing. He should have, at least, been on the podium.

“It destroyed the race for Checo, it did a lot of damage, and cost us vital points in the constructors’ championship.”

Horner was also asked if Perez could have overtaken Piastri prior to the crash.

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The Red Bull chief continued: "Difficult. Unfortunately he lost quite a bit of time on his out-laps after Alex Albon.

“Then Lando cost him dearly which gave Oscar the track position.

“Without that, he would have won the race today.

“It’s one of those things that is heartbreaking for the team, to lose a podium in the dying laps of the race.”

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Intriguingly, Perez was faster than Max Verstappen in Baku.

Verstappen has struggled in recent weeks, with Lando Norris hot on his feels as they battle it out for the F1 title.

When asked why Perez was able to outperform Verstappen, Horner stated: “He found a good rhythm and set-up.

“Checo’s car was very quick today. We might have introduced some things on Max’s car which didn’t work so well.

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“We damaged the tyres fighting through for such a long period.

“Look at George Russell’s stint. He starts slowly, builds into it, then has a better tyre at the end.

“So it’s really very frustrating.”

Red Bull now trail McLaren in the fight for the Constructors' Championship. Horner is, however, adamant that his side won't give up as they look to win that crown once again.

“There is still a lot of racing to do," he said.

“It was a magnificent race at the front, for so many laps.

“We’re disappointing it came to close like that, when it didn’t need to.”