Sergio Perez’s father was reportedly taken to hospital after the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

Sergio Perez’s father was reportedly rushed to hospital after the Azerbaijan Grand Prix (Image: GETTY)

Sergio Perez’s father Antonio was found unconscious at his home and rushed to hospital after the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, according to reports. The 65-year-old, who is regularly spotted watching his son at Grand Prix weekends, stayed in Mexico for the race in Baku.

According to Mexican outlet El Heraldo, Antonio was found unconscious in the bathroom of his house and immediately taken to hospital for treatment. He is thought to be recovering after being tended to by doctors, but it is not known if he is still in hospital or already at home.

He was said to have been hospitalised due to a pre-infarction, which can occur before a myocardial infarction or a heart attack. It took place just after Perez was involved in a last-lap collision with Carlos Sainz while fighting for a podium finish in Baku.

The 65-year-old was said to have been hospitalised due to a pre-infarction (Image: GETTY)

The two rivals were chasing down Charles Leclerc and Oscar Piastri, who was leading the race, as they crossed the line to begin their final lap. They were side-by-side coming out of Turn Two and drifted into each other, resulting in a collision.

Both drivers ended up in the barriers with significant damage to their cars, allowing George Russell to sneak into third place. The stewards later deemed it a racing incident, with neither Perez nor Sainz predominantly at fault.

Perez was furious in the immediate aftermath of the crash, swearing over team radio and branding Sainz an ‘idiot’. He quickly calmed down, though, and offered a measured view of what happened in his post-race interview.

“I felt that exiting Turn Two, there was plenty of room between both cars and within a metre or two we ended up making contact,” said the Red Bull driver.

“It’s very unfortunate. It all happened so quickly. I think Carlos was trying to follow the tow from Charles as he went to the inside and that really made things really hard.

“[The pace today is] a massive [positive]. I think we had the pace to fight for the victory today, so we just have to keep it up and hopefully in the coming races, coming weekends, we can be really strong.”

Sainz, meanwhile, added: “We normally do a slight drift towards the left into the long straight, which I did like every other lap. Suddenly, for some reason I don’t understand, Checo and I collided, which is unfortunate and also very disappointing.

“We’ve spoken already. We need to analyse. I’m not someone who wants to put blame on either an excuse or put blame on another driver. It’s racing. Everything happens super fast.”