Having read Autosport most of my life, I’m delighted to have received a regular column in a magazine/website that I respect. I’m sure I’ll soon return to what I know best – running racing teams – but for now, while I recharge my metaphorical racing batteries, I plan to tell a few stories from my 40-odd years in the sport.
I’ll start with Carlos Sainz, who has had a checkered start to 2024. In February he learned his Ferrari drive would be taken over by Lewis Hamilton in 2025, and in March he underwent appendix surgery, causing him to miss the Saudi Grand Prix. But, rather than complaining about those two setbacks, his response was to win his comeback race in Melbourne, then finish best of the rest behind steamroller Red Bull 1-2 at Suzuka two weeks later.
So why do so many people seem to underestimate him? Is beyond me. When he joined us at Carlin as a Formula 3 driver in 2012, he was just 17 years old and he carried on his teenage shoulders the heavy weight of expectations that all Red Bull-supported drivers experience.
On top of that, the fact that his father was and remains a motorsport legend – a two-time world rally champion – inevitably put extra pressure on him, particularly in their native Spain, where sports fans can be at both passionate and ruthless. Worse still, he had to deal with all of this even though he didn’t have the level of experience that previous Red Bull-backed drivers had been able to draw on.
However, he showed remarkable courage. Take Monza 2012, for example. The rain was torrential. We had three races this weekend and I will never forget the first one. All the cars took to the grid on slicks – and, as luck would have it, it started raining on the parade lap, forcing everyone to return to the pits immediately.
That year was the first season in which Dallara installed larger wheel retaining nuts, which meant the teams all had to use air guns for the first time. Gary Bonnor, our team manager, had our guys practice a few pit stops – something no other team did – and it paid off.
Carlin fondly remembers Sainz’s first British F3 victory in 2012 at Monza in wet conditions
Photo by: Ebrey / Motorsport Images
We split the crew into two groups, since we were driving five cars, and Carlos was the first Carlin car to enter. We completed his wheel change in seven or eight seconds, which was great for an unexpected last-minute pit stop. Then Carlos finished the job – no one could compete with him in these conditions, and he won the race easily.
Since the 2023 Azerbaijan Grand Prix, won by Checo Perez 12 months ago, Carlos is the only driver not named Max Verstappen to have won a grand prix, and he has done it not once but twice . Yet despite his abundant talent and recent fantastic form, he has no runs scheduled for 2025. He certainly deserves it – but one thing I am certain of is that he will handle whatever comes his way extremely well. to arrive at.
When he was with us in Carlin, Helmut Marko always gave him and his father a lot of sticks. This is Helmut’s approach. He likes to apply his motivation that way, and I’m not going to blame him for that, but obviously it adds pressure not only to the driver involved but also to the people around him. Yet, together, we achieved it.
He works as hard as any driver I’ve ever known – and I’ve been through a lot. It is a legacy of Carlos Sr, who was one of the great creators of rallying.
Carlos Sr is great in such circumstances, due to his great experience. However, I was particularly impressed with the way Carlos Jr handled himself, despite being so young. Like father, like son.
One of Carlos’ engineers that year was José Manuel Lopez Garcia. Racing is a small world – and, coincidentally, Jose ended up working with Lando Norris, also a former Carlin driver, when Carlos was his teammate at McLaren. Jose is a brilliant performance engineer – and I think Lando, who I also really like, got some of his best results when Jose worked with him.
All three – Carlos, Lando and Jose – have benefited enormously from their time at Carlin in the all-important area of motorsport. In fact, this period significantly boosted Carlos’ confidence, so much so that I don’t think he would have thrived at Ferrari as he did without benefiting from this significant confidence boost.
If Carlos gets the right car, he can become Formula 1 world champion. I firmly believe that. He works as hard as any driver I’ve ever known – and I’ve been through a lot. It is a legacy of Carlos Sr, who was one of the great creators of rallying.
This season, Carlos Jr follows in his father’s footsteps and proves he has what it takes to be among the best. If he continues in his current form, he will be able to leave the floor to his very wise father, who will surely know how to negotiate and ensure him a high-level seat in F1 for 2025.
Sainz is the only non-Red Bull driver to have won a Grand Prix since the start of 2023, and has all the credentials to shine when he leaves Ferrari.
Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images
Having read Autosport most of my life, I’m delighted to have received a regular column in a magazine/website that I respect. I’m sure I’ll soon return to what I know best – running racing teams – but for now, while I recharge my metaphorical racing batteries, I plan to tell a few stories from my 40-odd years in the sport.
I’ll start with Carlos Sainz, who has had a checkered start to 2024. In February he learned his Ferrari drive would be taken over by Lewis Hamilton in 2025, and in March he underwent appendix surgery, causing him to miss the Saudi Grand Prix. But, rather than complaining about those two setbacks, his response was to win his comeback race in Melbourne, then finish best of the rest behind steamroller Red Bull 1-2 at Suzuka two weeks later.
So why do so many people seem to underestimate him? Is beyond me. When he joined us at Carlin as a Formula 3 driver in 2012, he was just 17 years old and he carried on his teenage shoulders the heavy weight of expectations that all Red Bull-supported drivers experience.
On top of that, the fact that his father was and remains a motorsport legend – a two-time world rally champion – inevitably put extra pressure on him, particularly in their native Spain, where sports fans can be at both passionate and ruthless. Worse still, he had to deal with all of this even though he didn’t have the level of experience that previous Red Bull-backed drivers had been able to draw on.
However, he showed remarkable courage. Take Monza 2012, for example. The rain was torrential. We had three races this weekend and I will never forget the first one. All the cars took to the grid on slicks – and, as luck would have it, it started raining on the parade lap, forcing everyone to return to the pits immediately.
That year was the first season in which Dallara installed larger wheel retaining nuts, which meant the teams all had to use air guns for the first time. Gary Bonnor, our team manager, had our guys practice a few pit stops – something no other team did – and it paid off.
Carlin fondly remembers Sainz’s first British F3 victory in 2012 at Monza in wet conditions
Photo by: Ebrey / Motorsport Images
We split the crew into two groups, since we were driving five cars, and Carlos was the first Carlin car to enter. We completed his wheel change in seven or eight seconds, which was great for an unexpected last-minute pit stop. Then Carlos finished the job – no one could compete with him in these conditions, and he won the race easily.
Since the 2023 Azerbaijan Grand Prix, won by Checo Perez 12 months ago, Carlos is the only driver not named Max Verstappen to have won a grand prix, and he has done it not once but twice . Yet despite his abundant talent and recent fantastic form, he has no runs scheduled for 2025. He certainly deserves it – but one thing I am certain of is that he will handle whatever comes his way extremely well. to arrive at.
When he was with us in Carlin, Helmut Marko always gave him and his father a lot of sticks. This is Helmut’s approach. He likes to apply his motivation that way, and I’m not going to blame him for that, but obviously it adds pressure not only to the driver involved but also to the people around him. Yet, together, we achieved it.
He works as hard as any driver I’ve ever known – and I’ve been through a lot. It is a legacy of Carlos Sr, who was one of the great creators of rallying.
Carlos Sr is great in such circumstances, due to his great experience. However, I was particularly impressed with the way Carlos Jr handled himself, despite being so young. Like father, like son.
One of Carlos’ engineers that year was José Manuel Lopez Garcia. Racing is a small world – and, coincidentally, Jose ended up working with Lando Norris, also a former Carlin driver, when Carlos was his teammate at McLaren. Jose is a brilliant performance engineer – and I think Lando, who I also really like, got some of his best results when Jose worked with him.
All three – Carlos, Lando and Jose – have benefited enormously from their time at Carlin in the all-important area of motorsport. In fact, this period significantly boosted Carlos’ confidence, so much so that I don’t think he would have thrived at Ferrari as he did without benefiting from this significant confidence boost.
If Carlos gets the right car, he can become Formula 1 world champion. I firmly believe that. He works as hard as any driver I’ve ever known – and I’ve been through a lot. It is a legacy of Carlos Sr, who was one of the great creators of rallying.
This season, Carlos Jr follows in his father’s footsteps and proves he has what it takes to be among the best. If he continues in his current form, he will be able to leave the floor to his very wise father, who will surely know how to negotiate and ensure him a high-level seat in F1 for 2025.
Sainz is the only non-Red Bull driver to have won a Grand Prix since the start of 2023, and has all the credentials to shine when he leaves Ferrari.
Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images