The Sainz familyhas spanned the recent
transition between decades in dynamic style.
In Adu Dhabi Carlos snatched sixth in the Formula
1 world championship by asing le point at the 2019
season finale; seven weeks later his 57-year-old
father scored histhird v ictory on
the Dakar rally raid.
A potent combination of talent and
professionalism is clearly hard-wired into their
DNA, and the McLaren driver continues to
be inspired by his dad, who waswor king out
in a sauna at 7am each day in the build-up
to competing inthe desert.
The younger Sainz has focused on playing
squash and on boxing to further improve his
physical and mental skills, but will we ever see
him emulate his father’s greatest achievement
in becoming a world champion?
The approaching season is a key period in
answering that question. By delivering strong
results Sainz willfurther cement his position in
a team which has recovered much of its mojo.
New rules and Mercedespower units for 2021
offer McLaren a great opportunity to resume
position at the very top of grand prix racing,INSIDER
THE MAKING OF
CARLOS SAINZ
and with a freshcontract in place Sainz could be in a prime slot
for a title challenge.
But other avenues doexist. His recent exploits claimed the
attention of rival teams and in Autosport’s 2019 Team Principals’
driver rankings he was placed seventh, ahead of Daniel Ricciardo
and just a few points behind Sebastian Vettel. Perhaps a drive in an
established top team will appear for Carlos?
Ferrari and Red Bull have already chosen their key drivers for the
next few years in Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen respectively,
but question marks surround both seats alongside them, and who
knows what will happen at Mercedes?
Red Bull brought Sainz into Formula 1 in thefirst place and
recently the junior driver programme’s stalwart leader Helmut
Marko dismissed any idea that it was a mistake to let him go.
“He is no Verstappen,” he remarked, “there’s a [performance]
difference between the two”.
In their first season together Max outscored Carlos by 31 points,
but in qualifying there was usually little to choose between them.
Some errors by Carlos in wet sessions, such as crashing out in the
opening moments of Q1 in Austin, lost him
vital points. He recovered to finish seventh
in that race butMax capitalised on a top-ten
grid position by finishing fourth, matching
his best result of the year andfurther
underlining his future-star status.
They remained team-mates for justfour
more races in 2016 before Maxwas promoted
to Red Bull and took that sensational first win
in Barcelona. No doubtgnashing histeeth ,
Sainz respondedeffec tively, outscoring new
team-mateDaniil Kvya t 42 points to fourover
the rest of the season.Encouraged,Red Bull
kept Carlos onits bo oks for thenext two years,
but he was loaned toRenault, going head-to-
head with the highlyrated Nico Hülkenberg.
Sainz was just over a tenth of a second
slower in qualifying in 2018 on average
and finished 16 points behind. But while
Hülkenberg had a secure deal in place, Sainz’s
contract with Red Bull was up for renewal –
and his Renault seat seemeddestined to go
to Esteban Ocon.
When McLaren came along offering a two-
year deal, Sainz saw the prospect of stability
and generating results from a new foundation.
Meanwhile, Daniel Ricciardo surprised many
by swapping Red Bull for Renault, leaving
Ocon out in the cold (until now). Rather than
recalling Carlos from his loan, Red Bull chosePICTURES:STEVEN TEE; McLAREN.ILLUSTRATION:BENJAMINWACHENJE.Sainzhassettledinwellat
McLarenandislookingtobuild
onhisfirstF1podiumBENED WARDS
THE F1
ANALYST
@benedwardstv
PICTURES24 GP RACING MARCH 2020
The Sainz familyhas spanned the recent
transition between decades in dynamic style.
In Adu Dhabi Carlos snatched sixth in the Formula
1 world championship by asing le point at the 2019
season finale; seven weeks later his 57-year-old
father scored histhird v ictory on
the Dakar rally raid.
A potent combination of talent and
professionalism is clearly hard-wired into their
DNA, and the McLaren driver continues to
be inspired by his dad, who waswor king out
in a sauna at 7am each day in the build-up
to competing inthe desert.
The younger Sainz has focused on playing
squash and on boxing to further improve his
physical and mental skills, but will we ever see
him emulate his father’s greatest achievement
in becoming a world champion?
The approaching season is a key period in
answering that question. By delivering strong
results Sainz willfurther cement his position in
a team which has recovered much of its mojo.
New rules and Mercedespower units for 2021
offer McLaren a great opportunity to resume
position at the very top of grand prix racing,
INSIDER
THE MAKING OF
CARLOS SAINZ
and with a freshcontract in place Sainz could be in a prime slot
for a title challenge.
But other avenues doexist. His recent exploits claimed the
attention of rival teams and in Autosport’s 2019 Team Principals’
driver rankings he was placed seventh, ahead of Daniel Ricciardo
and just a few points behind Sebastian Vettel. Perhaps a drive in an
established top team will appear for Carlos?
Ferrari and Red Bull have already chosen their key drivers for the
next few years in Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen respectively,
but question marks surround both seats alongside them, and who
knows what will happen at Mercedes?
Red Bull brought Sainz into Formula 1 in thefirst place and
recently the junior driver programme’s stalwart leader Helmut
Marko dismissed any idea that it was a mistake to let him go.
“He is no Verstappen,” he remarked, “there’s a [performance]
difference between the two”.
In their first season together Max outscored Carlos by 31 points,
but in qualifying there was usually little to choose between them.
Some errors by Carlos in wet sessions, such as crashing out in the
opening moments of Q1 in Austin, lost him
vital points. He recovered to finish seventh
in that race butMax capitalised on a top-ten
grid position by finishing fourth, matching
his best result of the year andfurther
underlining his future-star status.
They remained team-mates for justfour
more races in 2016 before Maxwas promoted
to Red Bull and took that sensational first win
in Barcelona. No doubtgnashing histeeth ,
Sainz respondedeffec tively, outscoring new
team-mateDaniil Kvya t 42 points to fourover
the rest of the season.Encouraged,Red Bull
kept Carlos onits bo oks for thenext two years,
but he was loaned toRenault, going head-to-
head with the highlyrated Nico Hülkenberg.
Sainz was just over a tenth of a second
slower in qualifying in 2018 on average
and finished 16 points behind. But while
Hülkenberg had a secure deal in place, Sainz’s
contract with Red Bull was up for renewal –
and his Renault seat seemeddestined to go
to Esteban Ocon.
When McLaren came along offering a two-
year deal, Sainz saw the prospect of stability
and generating results from a new foundation.
Meanwhile, Daniel Ricciardo surprised many
by swapping Red Bull for Renault, leaving
Ocon out in the cold (until now). Rather than
recalling Carlos from his loan, Red Bull chosePICTURES:STEVEN TEE; McLAREN.ILLUSTRATION:BENJAMINWACHENJE.Sainzhassettledinwellat
McLarenandislookingtobuild
onhisfirstF1podiumBENED WARDS
THE F1
ANALYST
@benedwardstv
PICTURES