The five-time overall winner’s annoyance will not go away – Nasser Al-Attiyah lists many examples of what is going wrong and emphasizes that this Dakar is no fun
Nasser Al-Attiyah has already been critical of the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) at the 2025 Dakar Rally. The Dacia driver is adding to this and says clearly: “The right people have to be in the right place”. He has already announced that he will send a letter to FIA President Mohammed bin Sulayem.
“Yes, we have already sent the letter. We wrote it to defend our position regarding the ten minutes [penalty],” the five-time Dakar winner insists. “It’s a mistake to get ten minutes for that.”
“But we are working on this situation, not to change it [the penalty], but to have the right people in the right place.” There are many things he disagrees with in this rally.
Firstly, the severity of the FIA commissioners regarding the damaged roll cages of Carlos Sainz, Sebastien Loeb and Laia Sanz. Secondly, his own time penalty, which he received for losing a spare tire during a stage.
And thirdly, for a situation involving Lucas Moraes. Cameras are mounted in the cockpits so that drivers and co-drivers are not allowed to use unauthorized aids. Phones, smartphones with GPS and devices like that are strictly forbidden.
Moraes was caught with a phone. The disqualification was postponed. It only becomes effective if he is caught again. “He should have been excluded from the race, but he wasn’t. What is the rule?” asks Al-Attiyah angrily.
“Why am I getting a ten-minute penalty? A rule is a rule. He had a cell phone in his car. That was it! I don’t understand it. We have to work on this situation because, from my point of view, something is wrong. We have to defend our position.”
Nasser Al-Attiyah is adamant that he is not enjoying this Dakar… Zoom
The motorcyclists are particularly critical of the new tablet with the digital road book. These devices often failed or malfunctioned for different drivers. In the cars, there are at least two tablets for the navigator.
But rally director David Castera also made a mistake in the route planning for the cars, which the Frenchman has also admitted. At the seventh stage, there was an incorrect entry at kilometer 158. Many cars were lost and searching for the right route.
Castera moved in with a helicopter and signaled the correct direction to the drivers himself. To correct the mistake, about 20 kilometers of this special stage were not counted, so that the lost drivers were not at a disadvantage.
“The problem is,” says Al-Attiyah, ”that this is not a good level for this race. That’s the problem. But sometimes this happens. I hope they will do better next time. We don’t want to risk our lives because of stupid situations.”
Because if several vehicles get lost and are looking for the right way, accidents can also happen. There have already been two head-on collisions between two cars that had lost their way during the rally.
“No, I’m not enjoying this Dakar,” said an annoyed Al-Attiyah. ‘I’m taking it day by day, but something strange always happens. I’m not enjoying it. Nothing is missing, but when you’re racing, you have to enjoy it. There should be no politics in between. This isn’t school.’
