Biography of Carlos Sainz Jr “the new Spanish legend”
When we say that entering Formula One and, more importantly, maintaining a spot in the series is extremely difficult, we won’t be breaking any new ground.
The ingredients that go into making this explosive concoction are the fierce competition typical of the Grand Circus and the grit and determination that each driver develops throughout their career.
Not to mention the financial burden that the sport places on participants and the imperative requirement placed on the teams to secure financial backing from sponsors.
Carlos Sainz Jr. is the only person we can think of who has direct experience with the severity of what we have just stated, and we highly recommend that you listen to him.
The Spaniard has triumphed over numerous challenges to reach the position he is currently in, one of the two red Ferrari single-seaters highly desired by anyone who aspires to compete in the most prestigious category in the sport of motorsport.
As a result, we will have a lengthy discussion about him in the following lines.
Carlos Sainz Jr took the circuitous journey.
After putting everything into its proper perspective, now is the perfect time to examine Sainz’s life and athletic career from when he first began competing in sports until now.
1. Beginnings
The day of his birth, September 1st, 1994, was spent in Madrid for Carlos Sainz Vázquez de Castro.
It is common knowledge where he came from, as his father won the Dakar Rally three times and the World Rally Championship twice.
Because of this, his enthusiasm for things that move on four wheels dates back to his earliest childhood years.
It was not for nothing that he got his start in the various parts of the capital city of Spain’s indoor karting circuit that his father owns and operates.
On the other hand, it wasn’t until he was in his pre-teen years that he started to get the better of the competition in the karting world.
It did not take him very long to establish himself as a leader in this field.
In 2006, he won the championship of the Community of Madrid, climbed the podium with an excellent third place in the Trophy of Industry held in Parma (Italy), and finished second in the Race of Champions.
All of these accomplishments came in less than a year. The conclusion can be drawn from this is that adaptation was not in the least bit difficult for him, even though he began driving at an older age than many of the other drivers with whom we have dealt in this area.
He continued to be successful the following year, as evidenced by the fact that he was awarded the title of champion of the International Trophy in Ciudad de Alcaiz.
In 2008, he expanded his horizons to the point where he participated in the Asia-Pacific KF3 championship, which he won in Macao, China.
He also placed second in the competition held in Spain.
In addition, he participated in several other competitions, including the German, the Andrea Margutti of Italy, and the Monaco Kart Cup.
2. Signing for Red Bull
The previous victory in the Monaco Kart Cup was the first significant accomplishment of his career that paved the way for him to start down the path that led to Formula 1.
The fact that he won this competition held in the Principality served as his “passport” to participate in the young driver program that Red Bull offers.
The institution set its sights on a young person who had recently triumphed in a promotional championship widely regarded as among the most prestigious in the entire world of motorsport.
During the same year, he placed second in the European and Spanish championships and third in the WSK International Series. In addition, he won the Spanish title that year.
In 2010, he participated in the examination that would allow him to become a part of the program above the energy drink.
He was successful in this examination as a result of the assistance that he had received at the Jarama Circuit in front of Emilio and Maria de Villota during the preparation for the test.
His racing career got off to a good start when he competed in the European Formula BMW with the Junior Team.
The fact is that he had a successful debut in the category because he was the best rookie.
In addition to that experience, he competed in three races for the Asia-Pacific championship and won the race held at the Macau circuit.
This victory was noteworthy because he started from the pole position and won with such an authoritative advantage over his competitors.
In 2011, he switched from BMW to Renault and began competing in the Formula Renault 2.0 NEC and the Eurocup Formula Renault.
He was a protagonist in both of these competitions. In the first competition, he was declared the winner and broke the record for being the youngest to win an early round.
He finished in second place in the second competition with precisely 200 points.
During that season, he made his debut in the Formula 3 Euro Series, more specifically in the event held at Hockenheim.
The year after that, in 2012, he competed in the original competition and its British offshoot by acting as a de facto driver.
He took first place at such a prestigious race as Spa-Francorchamps and finished on the podium multiple times, but he chose not to win either championship.
As a result, he placed ninth in the European championship and fifth in the British crown.
The Formula Renault 3.5 Series and the GP3 Series were the final stepping stone to the Formula One World Championship.
In the latter, he concentrated more on that track, and as a result, he turned in an outstanding performance in Monaco in his first attempt at competing for the win.
Additionally, he evaluated the Red Bull that Sebastian Vettel drove.
His performance that year was not to shoot rockets, as he only climbed the podium twice and finished tenth in the final standings of the GP3 Series.
His performance was not to shoot rockets. To encourage him, Red Bull promised that if he won the Formula Renault 3.5 championship the following year, he would be guaranteed a spot as a driver for their Formula 1 team.
He said, done, and also in his first entire course, considering that in 2013 he had only participated in a few appointments before this year’s program.
3. The journey with Toro Rosso has just begun
Carlos Sainz was allowed to become the new driver for the Toro Rosso team at the tail end of that exceptional year for him in 2014, even though he was concerned about the appointment of Max Verstappen as the driver for the team before him.
Before he was promoted to the A-team at the Spanish Grand Prix in 2016, the Dutchman shared the pit box with him during his rookie season in 2015 and part of the following season.
In his first race at the Australian Grand Prix, he defeated Mad Max, who went on to win and become the world champion.
He did not make things simple for the driver who would go on to win the world championship.
Nevertheless, some outstanding performances can be highlighted from that 18-point record he finished with, such as his fifth-place finish qualifying for the home race in Montmeló or his seventh-place finish in Singapore.
Both of these results were achieved in the final race. His miserable streak of four defeats was split between Austria and Belgium.
His total increased yearly, with 46 units in 2016 and 54 the following year.
Keep in mind that after spending almost three seasons in the B-team, Sainz was looking for a faster tempo, but his training team could not provide it for him.
4. Renault and McLaren represent opposite sides of the same coin.
After his fantastic performance in fourth place in the changing conditions of Singapore in 2017, the Renault team placed their bet on the Spaniard.
A more experienced and wiser driver exhibiting increasing levels of consistency joined the French team.
Even though he got off to a perfect start with a seventh-place finish in Austin, Nico Hulkenberg was a much tougher nut to crack than Daniil Kyvyat.
On that 2018 course, the German put his experience and consistency to good use to earn 69 points, 26 points higher than Sainz’s score.
The fact that he used to be in first place and the chance to sign Daniel Ricciardo brought an end to the stage for the Spaniard, who was forced to look for a new team to maintain his position among the elite competitors.
The retirement of his hero Fernando Alonso opened the door for him to join McLaren, another team with a rich history that had previously been excluded from the sport.
Even though things did not appear to be going very well, Sainz put the team on his back. In the constructors’ world championship, the Papaya cars finished in fourth place thanks to his chemistry with Lando Norris, the mechanical changes made, and their talents.
The year 2019 will be remembered as the year that the Spaniard finished on the podium for the first time in Formula One, which occurred at the Interlagos Grand Prix.
Lewis Hamilton ranked third at the time, received a penalty of five seconds for kicking Alex Albon off the track, which moved him up to the third step of the podium.
Even though he was robbed of more points and his first victory at Monza because a safety car and red flag caught him in the sixth position after stopping, the 2020 season, which was the first world championship of the pandemic, was even more successful for him than the previous year.
Despite this, he went out grandly, leaving McLaren in third place among constructors.
5. Ferrari makes him dream
Amid the confinement that afflicted most of the planet in the spring of 2020, Ferrari announced that he would take over as the team’s driver for the next two years.
This was to the detriment of Sebastian Vettel, who had declined a downgraded renewal with the understanding that it was an invitation to leave.
The resurgence of McLaren can largely be attributed to Carlos Sainz, and the people in Maranello have noted this.
In 2021, the Spaniard signed his best final position and score, with a fifth-place finish and 164.5 points that allowed him to beat Charles Leclerc in his first course in red.
This was possible because he had a car evolving after a poor performance in 2020.
He did not withdraw from any races and came dangerously close to winning in Monaco, where he first began to realize his dream.
In 2022, the regulations will change, and the car will also see some improvements.
A competitive single-seater helped Carlos Sainz to his first victory, which came at Silverstone, the track with the most charisma in the championship, given that it was the site of the first race ever held in 1950.
Sainz’s first win came in a single-seater he drove in the championship.
Will he emulate Fernando Alonso’s success, or will he remain a title contender but never win one?
One thing is for sure: thanks to him, Spain is once again dreaming big in this sport.
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