For a car manufacturer there are different sporting stages in order to create a successful brand at a marketing level. Formula 1 is of course the most important motorsport category, but motorsport has many variations and among these there is also the Dakar Rally, which sees, for example, Audi returning to compete with great ambitions in the most famous rally raid in the world.
One year ago, Audi debuted the RS Q e-tron off-road competition car, built by Audi under the e-tron battery electric sub-brand, which at the moment in this 2023 edition leads the general standings after two stages with Carlos Sainz closely followed by the reigning champion Nasser Al-Attiyah.
Alongside his father in Saudi Arabia there is also Scuderia Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz junior, who admitted to being impressed by the atmosphere of camaraderie that reigns among the drivers at the bivouac (the work area located between the finish and start time checks):
“The thing that struck me the most is the atmosphere you feel at the bivouac among the competitors. There is pure competition but also respect, you realize that people love each other. The Dakar is a beautiful but risky adventure, and it is good to see this camaraderie. I like this style and I have to say that in recent years the environment in Formula 1 has improved a lot: you fight on the track, but there is a good relationship between the drivers outside it. You live in a more relaxed way”, the words of the Scuderia Ferrari driver reported by today’s edition of the Italian newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport.
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Carlos Sainz junior wouldn’t mind Ferrari thinking about a commitment in the Dakar at a certain moment in the future: “It would be great for Ferrari to build one of these off-road racing cars. I’m here not only because my father races, but also because I like the discipline. I have been following it since 2006. I have experienced it through my father’s stories and in recent years more closely. I think the Dakar is magical, especially the bivouac. I’ve wanted to come for a long time but it usually coincides with the only week of the year when I can rest”. – the Spaniard added.
In the meantime, the Maranello company will experience a return to the WEC in the main class, the Hypercars, in which two 499Ps will compete. A jewel presented by Ferrari last October and awaited to take part in the 24 Hours of Le Mans scheduled for 10-11 June. It’s hard to imagine Ferrari engaged in the Dakar as in Carlos Sainz’s dreams, but dreaming costs nothing.
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