Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz Didn’t Stop Believing En Route to First F1 Win

The Spaniard says, ‘It has happened to me so many times that I was close to winning, and there’s always something that Formula One surprises you with.’

Twenty cars lined up on the Silverstone grid, engines humming. One by one, the five red lights came to life before it all became still. The lights went out, and the cars lurched forward, bunching together as the crowd cheered.

The countdown to the start of any Formula One race is dramatic, and Carlos Sainz says it’s the most exciting part of the race because of the action within the close proximity of the cars.

“That's where you feel you're a Formula One driver, because of the reflexes you need to have and the ability to improvise, the ability to react quickly to everything. It’s where your skills really come out,” the Ferrari driver says.

And there were a multitude of obstacles in his path before and during the 2022 British Grand Prix earlier this month. Still chasing that elusive first F1 race victory and putting three previous race DNFs behind him, Sainz had to manage in-race gaps to teammate Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton, ongoing radio messages, fuel reserve and early battles with overall points leader Max Verstappen. Plus, he was not feeling 100% comfortable with his car.

He might have channeled past Silverstone vibes during the July 3 race—the circuit is where Sainz won his first race on the Formula BMW junior circuit in 2010.

When asked what his younger self would think of where he is today, Sainz recounts a video he recently watched about how there are two people in the world you need to make proud: your 10-year-old self and 80-year-old self.

“I think in my days at least now, I’m making the 10-year-old Carlos quite proud because [of what] I’ve achieved so far,” he adds. “All the targets and all the objectives and things that I had in my mind and my dreams when I was 10 years old, that was [to] drive in Formula One, become a Ferrari driver, win a Formula One race, make your first one Formula One podium.

“These are all things that I used to dream up about, and they’re all happening recently.”

Two of those dreams became a reality at Silverstone. More than a decade later, Sainz brought home his first F1 pole position and win at the 2022 British Grand Prix, a race he admitted was likely one of the mentally toughest he’s faced.

“You don’t believe you’re going to win until you cross the line,” Sainz says. “It has happened to me so many times, where I was close to winning, and there’s always something that Formula One surprises you with.”

Sainz won the 2022 British Grand Prix on July 3, the same circuit where he first made his mark as a junior driver.  :: IMAGO / PanoramiC

His first-place starting position did not last long as Verstappen flew “off the line.” Starting has been a struggle for both Ferrari drivers this year compared to last season, and he found himself chasing Verstappen after the Red Bull driver flew “off the line” heading into Abbey. But the race paused almost as quickly as it started when a collision between George Russell and Zhou Guanyu caused the Alfa Romeo to flip, sliding upside down across the track and gravel before barrel rolling over the barrier into the catch-fence.

At first, Sainz thought the red flag was due to environmental protestors running onto the track. He found out about the wreck later and decided not to look at it during the red flag period because he “didn't want to be in any way affected by it.”

Almost an hour passed before the second restart, and drivers tried to get back into “focus mode.” Sainz spent some time inside of the car with his helmet on, “thinking about the procedures, just getting into my comfort zone with my mind and heart rate.” When the race resumed, the Spaniard had a second chance. With drivers not completing a full lap before the red flag was waved, the grid started the same—Sainz leading and Verstappen in second. This time, the Ferrari driver was better prepared.

Sainz was aggressive out of the gate, cutting down to block Verstappen and almost nudged him into the pitwall. He zipped a second ahead of Verstappen, fighting to keep him outside of DRS range for the laps to come. But Sainz went into the grass after pushing the car too much and Verstappen pulled ahead.

Sainz soon faced a new pressure—his own teammate.

Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc at the 2022 British Grand Prix.  :: IMAGO / ANP

Leclerc continued to gain on Sainz but still trailed, relaying over radio he was losing time. Hamilton also was rapidly gaining time behind the Ferraris. With the Spaniard unable to reach the target lap time, the Prancing Horse pitted him. When faced with the same situation again later in the race, Leclerc asked whether he and Sainz would be fighting. Ferrari responded by saying the duo were “free to fight,” and if Sainz could not reach a new target lap time, they would be “swapping the cars.” He was unable to do so, and Leclerc was let through with Hamilton speeding behind the Ferrari duo.

As the laps started to dwindle, Ferrari delivered another message to Sainz that surprised broadcasters—he needed to save fuel.

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“I suddenly had to start managing a lot [of] the fuel and then Lewis started to catch me a lot quicker because I was lifting and coasting that, on this track, makes you lose a lot of time,” Sainz said during the post-race press conference. “And suddenly when the Safety Car came out, I knew it was my chance.”

With a safety car being deployed, Ferrari brought Sainz in for soft tires, placing him behind Leclerc, who was still on his hard tires. Sainz knew he would be faster, but Ferrari later told him to give 10 car lengths of space between him and Leclerc for the restart.

“Guys, I’m under pressure from Hamilton,” Sainz said over the radio. “Please don’t ask these things. Please. Please. Let’s just stop inventing. Stop inventing. I’m under pressure also. Trust me. There’s more to lose like that.”

Sainz ended up overtaking Leclerc, and a battle between Leclerc, Hamilton and Sergio Perez unfolded behind him.

“I knew that if nothing happened on the car the last 10 laps, everything was under control and I was not going to crash and I was not going to make a mistake, and I was going to win,” Sainz says. “But you never know in Formula One if you’re gonna get a puncture, [if] you’re gonna get a failure or something, so you don’t want to believe it until it happens.” 

Sainz said he is growing more comfortable with his car as the season pushes forward :: IMAGO / Eibner

It wasn’t too long before Sky Sports commentator David Croft’s words echoed from screens across the world

“For the first time in Formula One, Carlos Sainz is victorious. He wins the British Grand Prix!”

After pulling his car behind the pink sign labeled ‘1,’ Sainz closed his eyes and threw his fists in the air. After 150 Grand Prix races, he finally came home a winner. He says it’s hard to describe what he felt when he crossed the finish line, but Sainz likened it to “pure joy.”

I don’t know how to describe it because it’s a very ‘feeling’ thing. How do you describe feelings? Feelings are very difficult to describe, no? It’s a very subjective thing. I just can tell you it was probably one of the best moments in my career—if not the best—and I will never forget that feeling.”

There were moments earlier in the season when this result would have seemed more improbable. Sainz struggled with his car, including missteps in Australia, Imola and Spain. But it’s key to remember that new technical regulations were introduced this season. The concept was essentially an aerodynamics overhaul—for example, making adjustments to the car floor to make sure more downforce is generated and simplifying the front wing for example. The adjustments, some of the biggest in F1’s history, were expected to create better wheel-to-wheel action so the cars could follow more closely together.

“It is quite a complex car. It's a very different car to anything I've driven before,” Sainz says. “Having more races to experiment with is just allowing me to [take it] step-by-step every race and get closer to where I want to be.”

Ahead of the Monaco Grand Prix, Sainz told Sports Illustrated there wasn’t a race so far this season he was “particularly proud of.” He went on to record his fourth podium of the season a few days later. Sainz would proceed to face another DNF in Baku due to a hydraulics issue before bouncing back in Montreal, his confidence in the F1-75 growing as the season progressed.

Sainz says he’s competing “at a higher level now” after the last several races, including his DNF in Austria, where his car caught on fire shortly after an engine problem. And he’s still hungry for more.

“I think I’m performing at a level that I’m happy with and that I’m closer to where I know I can be,” Sainz says. “I’m still not at 100% of my potential. I haven’t reached it yet, but I’m much closer to it.”

The 27-year-old walked onto the podium at Silverstone on that windy Sunday, the Spanish flag draped around his shoulders, with a grin that rivaled a kid in a candy shop. As Hamilton and Perez showered him with champagne, Sainz leaned into the moment, knowing it’s just the beginning.

“Vamos.”