Drivers’ championship leader Neuville slid off the road into the woods on the eighth special stage, ruining his rally.
Teammate Dani Sordo was disappointed for Neuville but also offered some direct criticism.
“It is never nice to see someone go off the road. I was disappointed, even a little angry, because he was in such a good position considering the championship battle as well,” Sordo said.
Neuville’s crash opened up an opportunity for Toyota’s Elfyn Evans, who gained ten conditional points on Saturday, significantly narrowing the gap in the championship standings compared to Neuville.
“He took too big of a risk. He braked too late. It wasn’t a very big mistake. Until then, he had been driving really well,” Sordo commented.
Before his crash, Neuville was in a very good position. He could have earned a substantial amount of conditional points on Saturday if he had just finished the stages. Sordo couldn’t understand why Neuville needed to take any risk at that point.
“The previous stage was already really rough, and there were a lot of loose stones. On these stages, you can’t take as many risks. This rally has been about the battle for victory between Sebastien Ogier and Ott Tänak, but he should also think about the championship fight,” Sordo questioned.
Dani Sordo will start the final day of Rally Sardinia in third place. Toyota driver Ogier leads the rally with a 17.1-second advantage over Hyundai driver Tänak.
