Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz used his winter break to support his father Carlos Sainz Sr at the Dakar Rally Racing. In doing so, he also got his father in trouble with the FIA.
Sainz Sr is a legend of rally racing. He has won 2 world rally championship titles and has won Dakar Rally four times having taken part in it 17 times.
But what did his son do at the 2022 Dakar Rally that got him in trouble? Well, Sainz helped shut the door of Sainz Sr’s Audi RS Q E-Tron E2 after the team stopped to make repairs.
While it does not seem like a big breaking of rules, it did catch the attention of the FIA sporting delegate, who further reported it.
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What consequences did Carlos Sainz Sr face?
As per rules, the presence of any team personnel or conveyance including helicopters is not allowed within 1 kilometre of its competing vehicle excluding a few exceptions.
Audi and Sainz Sr however argued that his son was not a part of the team and did not act on the initiative of the team.
Following these remarks, the stewards decided not to take any further action. As they found no legal evidence that confirmed the violation of the regulations.
However, in spite of that the stewards did tell off the Sainz family. They said that particularly important personalities of the motorsport set an example for everyone else.
Sainz Sr angry after Dakar rally nightmare
The Spaniard is bidding for his fourth victory in the Rally-Raid classic. But he lost a huge amount of time when he suffered some strange problems with his car. Following this, he was forced to stop twice.
He had started well but soon felt a bit weird in the rear suspension and noticed a ball joint broke. It took a bit of time for his squad to make the repairs.
Having lost 30 minutes in that repair, he moved forward making a strong case for himself but soon he found himself with a flat tyre.
This took another 20 minutes as they faced a few problems with the jack and while trying to make that right, they punctured the other tyre as well.
He said, “It was a film to keep us awake at night.”
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