Carlos Sainz Sr suffered a horrendous accident at the Island X-Prix in Sardinia when his car was sent rolling following an incident with Johan Kristofferson.
The two-time rally champion was competing in the final of the Island X-Prix for his Acciona | Sainz XE and Kristofferson took a varying route from the other drivers as they headed off the start line.
As the Rosberg X Racing driver’s line converged with Sainz’s, though, the pair got into a nasty crash, sending the Spaniard into a barrel roll.
Thankfully, he was okay and managed to climb out of the car and walk away under his own steam, as his team confirmed in a statement.
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“This afternoon, Carlos Sainz was hit by another car when he was leading the Final of the Island X-Prix in Sardinia,” they said.
“As a consequence of the impact, the car of the ACCIONA | SAINZ XE Team rolled over in a heavy crash
“Carlos was able to leave the car on his own and remained conscious.
“The driver was then taken to the hospital for medical checks, as a precaution. The team will issue updates about his status in due time.”
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The 60-year-old, father of Formula 1 driver Carlos Jr, was later cleared by medical staff, and he was particularly unhappy with Kristofferson’s actions, as well as what he felt was a soft punishment.
“Luckily all medical checks were fine and I have been released from the hospital, although I feel quite a lot of pain,” said Sainz.
“I am disappointed nevertheless with what happened on the track and even so more with the fact that there was only a 30-second penalty for who caused this big accident.
“In over 40 years in motorsports, this is one of the most this serious actions that I have ever seen without an exemplary penalty. Thanks a lot to everyone for your message of support.”
Kyle DeLuc and Sarah Price took out the win for Chip Ganassi after Kristofferson’s penalty was applied in Sardinia.