More than four months passed for Extreme E to return to action on track. Sardinia received the teams that make up the championship to dispute the Island X Prix I, a race that had action from start to finish, accidents and above all controversy after the final outcome that was ruled by the stewards.
During the Final Race, Rosberg X Racing was looking for another victory that would distance them in the lead of the championship. For the first lap, the team decided to send Johan Kristoffersson in order to be fast on track and leave a good time gap for Mikaela Åhlin-Kottulinsky to take the win in the final lap.
However, ACCIONA Sainz XE Team also played its main card: Carlos Sainz, who also competed in the opening lap, where at the start he managed to drive better to get out in front, but when everything seemed that he would lead the way from the front, his ODYSSEY 21 received an impact from the RXR Swede in the rear, generating an accident.
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Sainz’s vehicle lost steering, went sideways into the rocks and then spun several times. Fortunately, the Spaniard got out of the car under his own power but had to go to the hospital as a precaution. On the other side of the coin, however, Kristoffersson continued the race and Nico Rosberg’s team went on to take the win.
The clash between the Swede and the Spaniard generated a wave of comments on social networks regarding RXR’s victory after what happened at the start of the Final Race. Many called for a penalty against Kristoffersson, which came after a few hours: the Extreme E stewards penalized Rosberg X Racing with 30 seconds, fading the victory but remaining in third place on the podium.
Calos Sainz and Laia Sanz Disagree
Extreme E’s decision brought divided opinions, among them those directly affected. After communicating that he was fine, Carlos Sainz used his social networks to express his disagreement at the 30-second penalty imposed on Rosberg X Racing, stating that in his 40 years of racing he had never seen anything like this.
“I am really disappointed nevertheless with what happened on the track and even more so with the fact that there was only a 30-seconds penalty for who caused this big accident. In over 40 years in motorsports, this is one of the most serious actions that I have ever seen without an exemplary penalty. Thanks a lot to everyone for your messages of support,” said Sainz.
In addition, through a video of the accident, Sainz made it clear that he was ahead of Kristoffersson. “This is what happened yesterday! I think it’s very clear who was ahead!!!”, wrote ‘El Matador’ on Twitter and Instagram.
On the other hand, his teammate, Laia Sanz, was in the same line of thought as Sainz. “This afternoon, in the Island X Prix race of the Extreme E, Carlos Sainz has received a strong impact from a rival when he was leading. As a result, the car spun out and spun around…,” she said, before continuing with her point of view.
“… Fortunately, Carlos is fine! This is the most important, because the crash was terrible! But today, more than angry, I am sad because of how the situation was handled. I cannot understand that an action from another driver with these consequences, and how serious it could have been, has been punished with just 30 seconds. Thanks to the whole ACCIONA | Sainz XE Team. We were having a great race! We’ll come back stronger! Vamos Carlos!
On the other hand, Kristoffersson spoke out about what happened, thanking Sainz is fine, although stating that the cause of the accident was due to ACCIONA’s ODYSSEY 21 passing through his blind spot. “Most important is that Carlos is ok. Unfortunate racing incident with us arriving together into the merging track, he was in my blind spot so I didn’t see him. We respect the stewards opinion. Congratulations to Ganassi on their first Extreme E win.”
Written by | Ronald Ortega
