Dakar 2026 at ‘F1 level’ after close fight

Ford driver Nani Roma believes the Dakar Rally has reached a level of competitiveness comparable to Formula 1, after finishing second in a closely-fought 2026 event.

With Ford and Dacia both now established in cross-country rallying and Toyota introducing a brand-new Hilux, the level of competition in Dakar’s cars category rose several notches this year.

Five different manufacturers scored at least one stage win, including Mini and Century, while 10 drivers clinched individual victories across the two-week marathon in Saudi Arabia.

The fight for victory remained open deep into the second week, and it was only after the second marathon stage that Dacia’s Nasser Al-Attiyah emerged as the clear favourite.

The Qatari’s final winning margin over Roma was just under 10 minutes, while Mattias Ekstrom finished just 15 minutes off the top spot despite losing half an hour to navigation issues on Stage 9.

Two-time Dakar winner Roma said that after such an intensive fortnight of rallying in Saudi Arabia, the margins separating the front runners were similar to those seen in grand prix racing.

“Sometimes you get podium finishes in races that are circumstantial. I got here because the cars in front started to break down, but we were all here, neck-and-neck, just a few minutes apart,” the Spaniard told media including Motorsport.com .

“If you analyse the differences well after more than 5,000 kilometers, I think you get these kinds of differences in Formula 1.

“I’m happy with the level we’ve had with [co-driver] Alex [Haro]. In the end, that’s almost more important than the podium. The fact that I can be here, be competitive, be competitive again, feel competitive, and be super happy for the team.”

Roma believes small details, rather than outright pace, decided the battle in Al-Attiyah’s favour.

“In the end, you have to be happy with what you do, with the reality of it,” he said. “He was a little faster than us at different times. He didn’t beat us by being faster, but because of small details that we weren’t skilled enough to handle, but the good thing is to compete in the races and face the issue head-on.”

Bittersweet Dakar for Sainz

Roma’s team-mate Carlos Sainz Sr ended the Dakar in fifth, around 28 minutes down on winner Al-Attiyah. Navigation problems, including a 15-minute penalty for missing a waypoint in the second marathon stage, cost him a shot at a fifth career win in Dakar.

Sainz had been running in second heading into Stage 10 where he lost his way, underlining how costly mistakes have become in modern Dakar.

#225 Ford M-Sport Ford: Carlos Sainz, Lucas Cruz

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool

«My assessment is a bit bittersweet,” he said. “On the one hand, I’m happy to have finished the Dakar. I think we kept up a good pace, without any major problems with the car. 

“But just one day was enough to ruin all our chances of victory. We couldn’t do it. That day, we lost almost 45 minutes, all our chances of victory. It’s tough, because the rest of the days went more or less well. I think we could have fought for victory. We were there, almost leading with Nani that day.”

The bikes category saw an even tighter fight, with KTM’s Luciano Benavides capitalising on a late error from Honda rival Ricky Brabec on the final day to snatch victory by just two seconds.

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— The Motorsport.com Team