Carlos Sainz has been in the Formula 1 limelight for most of this season, more than he perhaps would’ve wanted in terms of ‘bad news’ but there is ‘good news’ for the popular Spanish driver who tipped his hat to his father’s invaluable advice and support in a pre-summer break . In terms of bad news for Sainz, the decision by Ferrari to replace him with Lewis Hamilton in 2025, keeping Charles Leclerc at Maranello, was a shocker to all. Be sure to Carlos as well.
It was a very early confirmation that has loomed over the team ever since. Then that appendix mishap which meant he sat out the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. Then came the good news, including that remarkable bounce back from a hospital bed and is the stuff of legend.
With his future secure with Williams for the next two years, Sainz owes a great deal to his father, rally legend Carlos Sainz Senior who is his beacon on many levels: “I am very influenced by my father. His perspective and his opinion because in the end, he is my mentor, my manager, my father, my friend, he is my everything.” Sainz: My father told me, when I was 12, in racing you either bite or you get bitten “So obviously I am influenced, but I think I also have that character that leads me to try to be a team player, as far as possible, in a very tough, very intense sport, where you have to be selfish.
I have always tried to separate the two things, selfishness and aggression on the track,” he explained. Carlos recalled: “Since then, a.