Henning Solberg has confirmed Kimi Raikkonen crashed into the back of his Ford Fiesta RS WRC ahead of the start of the third stage on Rally de France.

Former Formula 1 world champion Raikkonen has retired from the opening day of the Strasbourg-based rally with damaged suspension after the impact and resultant trip to a ditch.

Solberg, who was less than a mile from the start of the stage when the crash happened, said: "I was just driving in a straight line on a straight road. I wasn't weaving to warm up the tyre or anything like that, just driving.

"I felt the hit from the back of the car, but it was soft, not a big impact or anything. When I looked in the mirror I saw Raikkonen flying off and into the ditch. I don't know what happened."

Raikkonen was unable to retrieve his Citroen from the ditch and retired on the spot.

Solberg's co-driver Ilka Minor added: "It was really strange. I was just fastening the belts for the start of the stage when they hit us. I think maybe he lost concentration for a millisecond or something like that."

source