The former director and Team Principal of Carlin Racing reflects on the driver's journey, before and during his experience in Formula 1, underlining how he has always seen Carlos Sainz as a potential world champion.
Seven years have passed since Carlos Sainz was still making his journey before arriving in Formula 1. But Trevor Carlin, owner and Team Manager at the time of Carlin Motorsport, where Carlos raced in F3 at just 17 years old, he has not forgotten the character and tenacity of the Spaniard, as he wrote in his Autosport column.
A character that is undoubtedly very reminiscent of that of his father, Carlos Sainz Sr, a motorsport legend, three-time world rally champion, who at the age of 61 won his fourth Dakar Rally last year. The father's shadow is projected on the young driver, certainly applying a non-trivial pressure, but Sainz managed to deal with it skillfully and always turn it to his advantage also in the training categories for Formula 1.
"This year, Carlos is following very closely in his father's footsteps, proving he has what it takes to keep up with the best. If he continues on his current path, he will let his actions speak louder than words, leaving negotiations for a top-level F1 driving job for 2025 to his wise father."
Trevor Carlin on Autosport
Carlin vividly remembers Monza 2012, a race completely transformed by torrential rain, which required impeccable team work during the pit stops, as it marked the debut of tire change guns. The team had executed the driver's pit stop to perfection, a performance that Carlos was able to maximize to take victory that day.
Mclaren and the "invisible thread" with Lando Norris
Speaking of teamwork, intrinsic to the spirit of the driver, one automatically thinks of Carlos' McLaren era. According to Andrea Stella, current McLaren Team Principal, the papaya team took advantage by the mentality and work ethic instilled by Carlos during his time at Woking, contributing to the results we observe in the English team today.
There is a theory, that of the "invisible thread", which seems to connect people at different stages of their lives. In the case of Carlos and Lando Norris, this theory is represented by their race engineer, Jose Manuel Lopez García. Initially alongside Sainz during his journey in Formula 3 with Carlin, subsequently the guiding voice on the radio of Lando Norris (also a former Carlin driver) and his McLaren, García was able to enhance the abilities of both drivers even if at different points in their sporting careers.
Last season in red
After McLaren came the dream of all drivers (as Sebastian Vettel would say) which is to wear Ferrari red. A dream in the Italian team that will end prematurely with the arrival of Lewis Hamilton next year. But far from being demoralized, from giving in, Carlos, with a resilience similar to that of his father, he not only takes the pressure but breaks it with a win and three podiums in what we've seen so far in 2024.
“If Carlos is given the right car, he can become Formula 1 world champion. I firmly believe in it,” says Trevor Carlin, and there's certainly no denying that Carlos is proving to be on the right path to make those words reality.
