Carlos Sainz Sr was in the process of being airlifted to hospital after a car accident - before asking the helicopter to turn back.
In a shocking turn of events, the father of Ferrari F1 star Carlos Sainz Jr flew over a sand dune during the second stage of the Dakar Rally before awkwardly rolling his huge Audi RS Q e-tron buggy. After suffering some pain in his chest, the 60-year-old was due to be taken to hospital via helicopter to receive medical attention.
But such is his passion for racing, the Spaniard changed his mind mid-air and demanded the helicopter turn around to return him to the scene of the crash. At the time of the incident, the official Dakar Rally twitter account wrote: “@CSainz_oficial, who lost control of his @audisport after 6km, has thrown in the towel, still suffering from pain in the right side of his torso.
“He has been airlifted to the hospital in Riyadh to undergo further medical check-ups,” before informing fans of Sainz Sr’s decision minutes later.
"New episode in the @CSainz_oficial saga on stage 9: the Spaniard asked the medical helicopter on its way to the hospital to turn back and take him to his car.," they reported. "He is now back with Lucas Cruz waiting for their assistance vehicle.”
Sports journalist Ruben Carballo tweeted that the veteran driver did indeed go back to the Rally to meet teammate Lucas Cruz and was picked up by an assistance vehicle. He posted pictures of workers trying to repair the damaged motor so that they can complete today's stage after returning to the race.
This is the second incident in a matter of days for the two-time World Rally Champion, who damaged his Audi on Friday following a collision on the dunes with Stephane Peterhansel.
His 28-year-old son, who finished 5th in the 2022 F1 drivers standings, found himself in hot water with the FIA, with an investigation against the Ferrari man launched by the governing body.
Sainz Jr has been supporting his father at the Dakar rally and a clip surfaced on social media of him getting too close to his father and Cruz performing repairs on their vehicle. The F1 driver came too close to the drivers’ door as his father slammed it shut. This proved to be a red flag for the sport’s governing body, hence an investigation being conducted.
Per article Article 49.2.1 of the rulings, “The presence of team personnel or any team conveyance (including helicopters) is prohibited within one kilometre of its competing vehicle,” Sainz Sr and his Audi team however pleaded their instance.
In response they claimed that this was not a rule-break with Sainz Jr not actually part of the ‘team personnel’. As a result, the FIA accepted the claim and no further action was taken.
The result of the enquiry concluded: “There is no evidence confirming a violation of the regulations in a legal sense.”
