Sainz set to leave Ford

Carlos Sainz is set to join Colin McRae in leaving Ford after this weekend's Network Q Rally of Great Britain, according to team boss Malcolm Wilson.

McRae has already signed to drive for Citroen, while his Spanish team-mate has no confirmed plans.

Ford announced earlier this year that they would part with at least one of their star pairing due to the cost of developing their car, in an attempt to close the gap on Peugeot.

Just hours before the season's finale began in Cardiff, Wilson disclosed that the team - who on Sunday could become the first to score points in every round of a season - may be looking for two new drivers.

"With Carlos the situation has not been definitely decided 100 per cent, but at the moment it's looking unlikely that he will be with us next year," said Wilson.

"It's a sad occasion when you lose two of the world's top drivers and this is quite a sad moment with Colin going.

"We've had 11 victories with the Ford Focus and Colin has been responsible for nine of them.

"He has been with us from the start and a lot of the development has been down to him."

Sainz - who had been linked with Hyundai until they announced that Freddy Loix and Armin Schwarz will drive for them next year - and McRae are two of six drivers who can still finish second in the World Championship.

Marcus Gronholm has already regained the title with 77 points but the man he deposed, Richard Burns, has only 34 and can be denied the runner-up's spot by Sainz, McRae, Gilles Panizzi, Harri Rovanpera and Petter Solberg.