Carlos Sainz Jr.
Carlos Sainz Jr. grew up watching his father — two-time World Rally Champion Carlos Sainz — compete at the highest level of motorsport. He's made his own formidable career in F1 while developing a reputation as one of the most personable and well-adjusted drivers on the grid, with genuine interests in skiing, cooking, and fitness.
6 Things You Might Not Know
Carlos Sainz Sr. won the World Rally Championship in 1990 and 1992 and remains one of the most celebrated rally drivers in history. Growing up with a world champion father provided Carlos Jr. with both opportunity and expectation — he had unparalleled access to motorsport expertise, but also an enormous standard to measure himself against. He has spoken about the duality with maturity, crediting his father without hiding that the comparison created pressure.
Sainz skis regularly and with genuine ability. He has been photographed on Spanish and Alpine ski slopes and describes skiing as one of the activities he looks forward to most in the off-season. Given his competitive nature, 'casual' skiing is probably not quite the right description — he approaches it with the same focus he brings to everything athletic.
Sainz has talked about cooking Spanish cuisine as something he genuinely enjoys rather than just a necessity. He's mentioned preparing traditional dishes at home in Monaco and has participated in cooking content for sponsors. His Spanish identity is important to him, and food is one of the ways he maintains that connection while living abroad.
Sainz works with a dedicated fitness team and takes physical preparation extremely seriously. He has spoken about the specific physical demands of different circuits — particularly high-G tracks like Bahrain and Silverstone — and how training must be circuit-specific. He is consistently among the drivers identified by sports scientists as particularly well-prepared.
When Sainz's Ferrari contract was not renewed after 2024, he signed with Williams rather than waiting for a seat at a top team. The decision was widely discussed as strategically unusual — Williams were among the lower-performing teams at the time. Sainz's reasoning, stated publicly, was that he preferred to drive than to wait. Whether it is ultimately the right call depends on Williams's trajectory.
Sainz has spoken about the importance of maintaining friendships from before his F1 career, friends who knew him before the fame and money. He makes deliberate effort to spend time with this group in the off-season and has cited this as important to his mental health and sense of identity. Several of his friends have appeared in his social media content.