Carlos Sainz: It was disappointing to see the footage of wha | Cross-Country Rally NEWS

Carlos Sainz:

It was disappointing to see the footage of what happened in yesterday's last stage . A driver of Nasser's calibre doesn't need to take a shortcut on order to fight for a victory. Last year he did a similar action to this one and for this event the organizers (ASO) were very clear in stating that not following the road book and the defined routes would imply a very serious penalty. Sadly, the stewards (FIA) closed this incident with just a two-minute penalty. Which is inconsistent with everything that we had discussed in our briefings with the organization.

The Andalucia Rally races through farmlands. Private lands and protected areas. Shortcutting the course is unsportsmanlike, and it puts risk not only the future editions of this wonderful rally, but even worse, the spectators and other competitors. Actions like this one are not a good example for our sport. Hopefully it won't happen again.