Carlos Sainz Vázquez de Castro (; born 1 September 1994) is a Spanish
racing driver
Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. In North America, the term is commonly used to describe all forms of automobile sport including non ...
who competes in
Formula One
Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...
for
Williams. Sainz has won
Formula One Grands Prix
Formula One, abbreviated to F1, is the highest class of open-wheeled auto racing series managed by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), motorsport's world governing body. The "formula" in the name alludes to a series of FIA ...
across 11 seasons.
Born in
Madrid
Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...
, Sainz is the son of
two-time World Rally Champion Carlos Sainz. Graduating from
karting
Kart racing or karting is a motorsport discipline using open-wheel, four-wheeled vehicles known as go-karts or shifter karts. They are usually raced on scaled-down circuits, although some professional kart races are also held on full-size motor ...
to
junior formulae in 2010, Sainz won his first championship at the
Formula Renault NEC in
2011
The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...
with
Koiranen, finishing runner-up to
Robin Frijns in the
Eurocup that year. In 2012, Sainz contested
British Formula 3, the
Formula 3 Euro Series and
FIA European Formula 3 with
Carlin. Sainz progressed to the
GP3 Series
The GP3 Series, or GP3 for short, was a single-seater motor racing series launched in 2010 as a feeder series for the GP2 Series, introduced by GP2 organiser Bruno Michel. GP3 followed the entire European leg of the Formula One series and the ...
with
Arden in
2013
2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years).
2013 was designated as:
*International Year of Water Cooperation
*International Year of Quinoa
Events
January
* January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...
, finishing tenth in his rookie season. He then found success in the
Formula Renault 3.5 Series, winning the championship in
2014
The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...
with
DAMS
A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use, ...
.
A member of the
Red Bull Junior Team since 2010, Sainz signed with
Toro Rosso in , debuting alongside
Max Verstappen
Max Emilian Verstappen (; born 30 September 1997) is a Dutch and Belgian racing driver who competes under the Dutch flag in Formula One for Red Bull Racing. Verstappen has won four Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles, which he w ...
. He remained at Toro Rosso until the
2017 United States Grand Prix, where he replaced
Jolyon Palmer
Jolyon Carlyle Palmer (born 20 January 1991) is a British former racing driver, broadcaster and journalist, who competed in Formula One from to . Since retiring from racing, Palmer has been a pundit for the BBC, Channel 4 and F1TV.
Prior to ...
at
Renault
Renault S.A., commonly referred to as Groupe Renault ( , , , also known as the Renault Group in English), is a French Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automobile manufacturer established in 1899. The company curr ...
, having already signed with the team from onwards. Sainz moved to
McLaren
McLaren Racing Limited ( ) is a British auto racing, motor racing team based at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, Surrey, England. The team is a subsidiary of the McLaren Group, which owns a majority of the team. McLaren is best known a ...
in , ending his association with
Red Bull
Red Bull is a brand of energy drinks created and owned by the Austrian company Red Bull GmbH. With a market share of 43%, it is the most popular energy drink brand as of 2020, and the third most valuable soft drink brand, behind Coca-Cola and ...
. He took his maiden podium at the that year, followed by another at the in . Sainz signed for
Ferrari
Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello. Founded in 1939 by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988), the company built Auto Avio Costruzioni 815, its first car in 1940, adopted its current name in 1945, and be ...
in , replacing
Sebastian Vettel to partner
Charles Leclerc
Charles Marc Hervé Perceval Leclerc (; born 16 October 1997) is a Monégasque racing driver who competes in Formula One for Ferrari. Leclerc was runner-up in the Formula One World Drivers' Championship in with Ferrari, and has won Grands ...
. After a winless debut season for Ferrari, Sainz took his maiden
pole position
In a motorsports race, the pole position is usually the best and "statistically the most advantageous" starting position on the track. The pole position is usually earned by the driver with the best qualifying times in the trials before the ra ...
and
win at the in . He took further wins for Ferrari at
Singapore
Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...
in , as well as
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
and
Mexico City
Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...
in . Replaced by
Lewis Hamilton
Sir Lewis Carl Davidson Hamilton (born 7 January 1985) is a British racing driver who competes in Formula One for Scuderia Ferrari, Ferrari. Hamilton has won a joint-record seven Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles—tied with M ...
for , Sainz joined
Williams to partner
Alexander Albon.
As of the , Sainz has achieved race wins, pole positions, fastest laps and podiums in Formula One. Sainz is contracted to remain at Williams until at least the end of the 2026 season.
Early life
Carlos Sainz Vázquez de Castro was born on 1 September 1994 in
Madrid
Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...
, Spain, to father
Carlos Sainz and his wife Reyes Vázquez de Castro. His father is a
rally driver, who won the
World Rally Championship
The World Rally Championship (abbreviated as WRC) is an international rallying series owned and governed by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile, FIA. Inaugurated in 1973, it is the oldest FIA world championship after Formula One. E ...
twice in and , with 26
rally victories. Sainz Jr. was mentored by his father throughout his journey to F1.
In 2016, Sainz was named Ambassador of
María de Villota's Legacy, as he was coached by her at driving school in Madrid.
He has spoken about how he was personally affected by her death in 2013, and he has kept a star on his helmet since 2014 in honor of her.
Junior racing career
Karting
Sainz started his career in karting in 2006, after participating in smaller series, in 2008, he won the Asia-Pacific
KF3 title, as well as finishing runner-up in the
Spanish Championship.
In 2009, he also won the
Junior Monaco Kart Cup, and was runner-up in the European KF3 Championship.
While at driving school in Madrid, he was coached by
María de Villota.
Formula BMW

Sainz raced in
Formula BMW
Formula BMW was a junior racing formula for single seater cars. It was positioned at the bottom of the motorsport career ladder alongside the longer established Formula Ford category. Like Formula Ford, it was intended to function as the young ...
Europe in
2010
The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...
with the
EuroInternational team. He was also part of the
Red Bull Junior Team programme. He made his Formula BMW debut during a guest drive in the
Formula BMW Pacific series at
Sepang, Malaysia where he was ineligible to score points as a guest driver. However, he placed second in the opening race in Malaysia. That debut was followed by a 4th place. The following race day, he retired from the first race but won the second race. He finished 7th in the following race. He missed the next race in China but returned to Singapore. He finished 6th in the first race and 2nd in the second race. He missed the Japanese races but returned to win the season finale in Macau. Overall, in 9 races he achieved 3 pole positions, 2 wins, and 2 fastest laps.
In Formula BMW Europe, he started his career with a podium position of 3rd and 6th place at the Circuit de Catalunya. At Zandvoort, he took 5th and 2nd place. At Valencia, he scored 7th and 10th place. A weekend at Silverstone saw him take 3rd place and a victory in the following race, his first that season. Hockenheim saw him take 11th and 6th place. A 4th and a podium position of 3rd.
Robin Frijns was on a charge, scoring a podium position in every race but 3, two of which he finished in 4th. A double retirement at Spa put him out of championship contention. An 8th and 6th at the season finale at Monza followed. He finished the season 4th with 227 points.
Sainz also competed in the UK Formula Renault Winter Cup, finishing 6th in the first race and retiring from the second race at Snetterton.
Formula Three
During the 2012 season, Sainz raced in both
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies.
* British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...
and
Euro Series Formula 3 championships. Racing for
Carlin, he won four races, finished nine times on the podium, as well as scoring a pole position in the British championship, finishing sixth overall in the final championship standings. He scored two podiums and two pole positions in the Euro Series championship, finishing in ninth position overall.
GP3 Series

In 2013, Sainz signed with
Arden to compete in the GP3 series. During the first qualifying session of the year, he qualified in 5th place, 5 tenths off of pole sitter
Kevin Korjus. However, he, as well as
Alex Fontana and
Patrick Kujala, were penalised 10 places for ignoring
yellow flags during free practice. During the beginning of race one, Sainz got up to 13th place by passing Alex Fontana and
Jimmy Eriksson off the start. By the start of lap 3, he was 13 seconds behind the leader. Sainz made it up to 8th place with his teammate
Daniil Kvyat until both cars lacked grip. Because they were both pushing to get into the top ten for points, neither driver decided to manage their Pirelli tyres and so by the end of the race, Kvyat was 20th and Sainz was 15th. He finished 51 seconds off first placed man
Tio Ellinas
Eftihios "Tio" Ellinas (born 27 January 1992 in Larnaca, Cyprus) is a Cypriot race car driver. Ellinas began racing go-karts at the age of seven, and from 2003 - 2009 won 10 kart racing championships in Cyprus, in 2005 winning the ROK Cup Inter ...
.
Sainz started in 15th place for race 2 on Sunday morning. At the end of lap 1, he was in 9th place. As they approached lap 2, the safety car was deployed due to an accident behind, giving Sainz time to save his tyres. With 5 laps remaining, Sainz was up to 8th place. During the next lap, he put a move on Jack Harvey's ART car to move up into 7th place. Sainz eventually would finish in 7th place. However, post race investigating revealed that Sainz's car was underweight, so he was disqualified from the final results from race 2, thus scoring no points. His teammate, Kvyat, retired during the race due to contact with another driver.
In Valencia, Sainz began, and finished, the race in 8th place. In race 2, he started in 4th place and got up to 3rd place by the end of lap 1. He remained in that position, scoring a podium for the first time in GP3. Sainz obtained 24 world championship points, 4 for fastest laps in both races. He was now in 6th place in the championship overall.
During the first race in Silverstone, Sainz was squeezed off track, falling to 9th place. By mid distance, Sainz overtook
Lewis Williamson to get into 8th place. Williamson then moved alongside Sainz to try and overtake but Sainz kept moving over towards him until there was contact. Williamson was sent into a spin whilst Sainz continued to circulate round the track. Due to the damage to his car, Sainz fell down the order until he crossed the finish line in 13th place. In race 2, he finished where he started, in 13th place.
Formula Renault 3.5

Sainz raced in
Formula Renault 3.5 for the first time in 2013. However, he missed several races in his first season most likely due to his commitment towards GP3. In
Monaco
Monaco, officially the Principality of Monaco, is a Sovereign state, sovereign city-state and European microstates, microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Regions of Italy, Italian region of Liguria, in Western Europe, ...
, he finished 6th place, most probably due to a challenging start to his GP3 season. He then experienced a double retirement in
Spa. He also missed the races i
Moscowand
Austria
Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...
. However, he made a comeback in
Hungary
Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...
, securing a 7th-place finish in Race 1. In Race 2, he faced several issues and finished in 22nd place. In France, at the
Circuit de Paul Ricard, he had another double retirement. In the last race weekend of the year in
Catalunya, he retired in race 1 but managed to score 6th place.
In 2014, he switched teams to
DAMS
A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use, ...
. In the season opener at
Monza
Monza (, ; ; , locally ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) on the Lambro, River Lambro, a tributary of the Po (river), River Po, in the Lombardy region of Italy, about north-northeast of Milan. It is the capital of the province of Mo ...
, he finished 18th in the first race but won the second. He left Monza with 25 points, beating his previous seasons' score by 3 points. Another win at Aragon meant he doubled his score and in race 2, he finished in 4th. Another 4th place followed at the one race in Monaco. The weekend at Spa followed with another 2 wins. Moscow followed. 14th and 6th meant that he only took 8 points from a possible 50. At the Nürburgring GP Circuit, he won race 1 but in race 2, he retired. In Hungary, he was no match for
Roberto Merhi who led by half a minute from the rest of the field in the wet. Another 6th place followed in race 2. In France, he won and scored a total of 50 points to extend his championship lead over Merhi.
Formula One career
Sainz became part of the
Red Bull Junior Team in 2010. His first experience in a Formula One car came at the young drivers' test at
Silverstone Circuit
Silverstone Circuit is a motor racing circuit in England, near the Northamptonshire villages of Silverstone and Whittlebury. It is the home of the British Grand Prix, which it first hosted as the 1948 British Grand Prix. The 1950 British Grand ...
in July 2013, where he drove both the
Toro Rosso STR8 and the
Red Bull RB9. Sainz confirmed that discussions had taken place with the struggling
Caterham
Caterham () is a town in the Tandridge (district), Tandridge district of Surrey, England. The town is administratively divided into two: Caterham on the Hill, and Caterham Valley, which includes the main town centre in the middle of a dry valle ...
team for a race debut during the season but, ultimately, no agreement was reached. As a reward for his Formula Renault 3.5 Series title, Sainz drove the
Red Bull RB10 in the post-season test after the
2014 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Toro Rosso (2015–2017)
2015

Sainz drove for
Scuderia Toro Rosso in the season where he partnered
Max Verstappen
Max Emilian Verstappen (; born 30 September 1997) is a Dutch and Belgian racing driver who competes under the Dutch flag in Formula One for Red Bull Racing. Verstappen has won four Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles, which he w ...
, following
Daniil Kvyat's promotion to
Red Bull
Red Bull is a brand of energy drinks created and owned by the Austrian company Red Bull GmbH. With a market share of 43%, it is the most popular energy drink brand as of 2020, and the third most valuable soft drink brand, behind Coca-Cola and ...
.
Sainz selected 55 as his race number. He qualified inside the top ten for his debut, the , and finished the race in ninth position. He scored points again at the , but failed to score at the after spinning and then retired from the with a wheel issue. He qualified fifth at the , his highest grid position of the year, and finished the race ninth. He was forced to start the from the pit lane after failing to attend the weigh-bridge during qualifying. He recovered to tenth place in the race.
Four consecutive retirements began with electrical failures at the
Austrian and
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies.
* British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...
Grands Prix, then a fuel pressure issue at the and a power unit issue at the . A 150
km/h
The kilometre per hour ( SI symbol: km/h; non-SI abbreviations: kph, kmph, km/hr) is a unit of speed, expressing the number of kilometres travelled in one hour.
History
Although the metre was formally defined in 1799, the term "kilometres per h ...
and 46
g impact into the barriers during practice for the resulted in Sainz spending the night in hospital. He missed qualifying but was declared fit to race, however he failed to finish after a brake failure. He crashed in qualifying for the and started from last place, but gained ten positions on the first lap and went on to record his best finish of the year with seventh place. Sainz finished his debut season fifteenth in the Drivers' Championship, scoring 18 points to teammate Verstappen's 49.
2016
Toro Rosso retained Sainz and Verstappen for the championship. Sainz qualified seventh and finished ninth at the season-opening , but retired from the due to a collision with
Sergio Pérez
Sergio Michel "Checo" Pérez Mendoza (; born 26 January 1990) is a Mexican racing driver, who most recently competed in Formula One from to . Pérez was runner-up in the Formula One World Drivers' Championship in with Red Bull, and won Gr ...
. After the , Sainz gained a new teammate in
Daniil Kvyat as Verstappen was promoted to Red Bull. Three points finishes followed for Sainz, including his best career finish with sixth place at the and a drive from twentieth to ninth place at the . After a suspension-related retirement at the , Sainz recorded three consecutive eighth-place finishes.
A run of six races without points followed, including retirement due to a puncture at the and a first-lap collision with
Nico Hülkenberg
Nicolas Hülkenberg (, born 19 August 1987) is a German racing driver who competes in Formula One for Sauber. In endurance racing (motorsport), endurance racing, Hülkenberg won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2015 24 Hours of Le Mans, 2015 with Por ...
at the having started sixth. Sainz equalled his best race result at the with sixth place and scored the same result at the after starting fifteenth. He retired from the season-ending due to a collision with
Jolyon Palmer
Jolyon Carlyle Palmer (born 20 January 1991) is a British former racing driver, broadcaster and journalist, who competed in Formula One from to . Since retiring from racing, Palmer has been a pundit for the BBC, Channel 4 and F1TV.
Prior to ...
. Sainz ended the season twelfth in the Drivers' Championship, scoring 46 of Toro Rosso's 63 points.
2017

Sainz and Kvyat remained with Toro Rosso for the season. Sainz scored points in the opening two races, but a collision with
Lance Stroll eliminated him from the . Both drivers blamed each other for the incident, but Sainz was handed a grid penalty for the next race. Three points finishes followed including sixth place at the . Sainz was again handed a grid penalty for a first-lap collision with
Romain Grosjean and
Felipe Massa
Felipe Massa (; born 25 April 1981) is a Brazilian racing driver, who competes in the Stock Car Pro Series for TMG Racing, TMG and in the IMSA SportsCar Championship for Riley Technologies, Riley. Massa competed in Formula One from to , and w ...
at the . Sainz spun on the first lap of the , attempting to avoid a collision with teammate Kvyat, and recovered to finish eighth.
Prior to the , Sainz commented that it was "unlikely" he would remain with Toro Rosso for a fourth year. Red Bull team principal
Christian Horner
Christian Edward Johnston Horner (born 16 November 1973) is a British motorsport executive and former racing driver. Since 2005, Horner has served as team principal and chief executive officer, CEO of Red Bull Racing in Formula One, winning s ...
rejected this, stating that Sainz would race for Toro Rosso in . Sainz retired from the Austrian Grand Prix with an engine problem and was eliminated on the first lap of the after a collision with Kvyat. Prior to the it was announced that Sainz would join
Renault
Renault S.A., commonly referred to as Groupe Renault ( , , , also known as the Renault Group in English), is a French Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automobile manufacturer established in 1899. The company curr ...
for 2018, on loan from Red Bull. He finished the race in a career-best fourth place, in what he described as his "best day in Formula One". He was joined at Toro Rosso by
Pierre Gasly
Pierre Jean-Jacques Gasly (; born 7 February 1996) is a French racing driver who competes in Formula One for Alpine. Gasly won the 2020 Italian Grand Prix with AlphaTauri.
Born and raised in Normandy, Gasly began competitive kart racing age ...
for the after Kvyat was dropped by the team. Sainz retired from the race due to an engine problem. He crashed in practice for the and again on the opening lap of the race. At this stage of the season, Sainz had scored 48 of Toro Rosso's 52 points.
Renault (2017–2018)
2017

Sainz's move to Renault was brought forward and he replaced
Jolyon Palmer
Jolyon Carlyle Palmer (born 20 January 1991) is a British former racing driver, broadcaster and journalist, who competed in Formula One from to . Since retiring from racing, Palmer has been a pundit for the BBC, Channel 4 and F1TV.
Prior to ...
and partnered
Nico Hülkenberg
Nicolas Hülkenberg (, born 19 August 1987) is a German racing driver who competes in Formula One for Sauber. In endurance racing (motorsport), endurance racing, Hülkenberg won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2015 24 Hours of Le Mans, 2015 with Por ...
at the team for the final four races of 2017, beginning with the where he started and finished seventh. Sainz made his way from eighth to fifth place on the first lap of the but then spun and had to pit for new tyres. He later retired from the race with steering problems. He failed to finish the season-ending after he was released from a pit stop with a loose wheel. Sainz ended the 2017 season ninth in the Drivers' Championship, scoring 54 points.
2018

Over the first eight races of 2018, Sainz qualified in the top ten at each of them and scored points in all but one, finishing eleventh at the . These results included the where he took advantage of a collision between Red Bull teammates
Max Verstappen
Max Emilian Verstappen (; born 30 September 1997) is a Dutch and Belgian racing driver who competes under the Dutch flag in Formula One for Red Bull Racing. Verstappen has won four Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles, which he w ...
and
Daniel Ricciardo to finish a season-high position of fifth.
Sainz described his as a "disaster" and criticised the team's tyre strategy having started eighth and finished tenth. He had run in sixth place for much of the but dropped to eighth place at the finish after his
MGU-K failed. Three races without points followed, including a race-ending crash with Romain Grosjean at the and a penalty for overtaking during
safety car
In motorsport, a safety car, or a pace car, is a car that limits the speed of competing cars or motorcycles on a racetrack in the case of a ''caution period,'' such as an obstruction on the track or bad weather. The safety car aims to enable the ...
conditions at the .
Sainz scored points at five of the next seven races, including a season's-best qualifying performance of fifth place at the . Damage received from contact with
Sergey Sirotkin on the first lap of the resulted in a seventeenth-place finish. Battery issues caused Sainz's retirement from the . He ended the season with a drive from eleventh on the grid to sixth place at the . Sainz finished the season tenth in the Drivers' Championship, three places behind teammate Hülkenberg, scoring 53 points to Hülkenberg's 69. Sainz scored points in thirteen out of the nineteen races he finished.
Sainz was replaced by Daniel Ricciardo at Renault for the following season, with the team opting to keep Hülkenberg on instead of Sainz.
McLaren (2019–2020)
2019: Maiden podium

Sainz moved to
McLaren
McLaren Racing Limited ( ) is a British auto racing, motor racing team based at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, Surrey, England. The team is a subsidiary of the McLaren Group, which owns a majority of the team. McLaren is best known a ...
for the season, ending his association with Red Bull. He replaced
Fernando Alonso
Fernando Alonso Díaz (; born 29 July 1981) is a Spanish racing driver who competes in Formula One for Aston Martin in Formula One, Aston Martin. Alonso has won two Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles, which he won in and with ...
and partnered rookie
Lando Norris
Lando Norris (; born 13 November 1999) is a British racing driver who competes in Formula One for McLaren. Norris was runner-up in the Formula One World Drivers' Championship in with McLaren, and has won Formula One Grands Prix, Grands Prix ...
.
Sainz had an unlucky start to the season with no points in the first three races due to an engine fire at the and first-lap collisions at the
Bahrain
Bahrain, officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, is an island country in West Asia. Situated on the Persian Gulf, it comprises a small archipelago of 50 natural islands and an additional 33 artificial islands, centered on Bahrain Island, which mak ...
and
Chinese Grands Prix. Sainz consistently scored points thereafter, often finishing as the highest-placed driver behind the top three teams of
Mercedes,
Ferrari
Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello. Founded in 1939 by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988), the company built Auto Avio Costruzioni 815, its first car in 1940, adopted its current name in 1945, and be ...
and Red Bull. He scored points at eight of the next nine races; notable results were finishing eighth at the having started nineteenth, and fifth place at the despite an incident where he spun and stopped on a wet section of the track.
Sainz encountered power issues and retired on the second lap of the . At the subsequent , he was forced to retire when a wheel was fitted incorrectly during a pit stop. Then at the , a collision with
Nico Hülkenberg
Nicolas Hülkenberg (, born 19 August 1987) is a German racing driver who competes in Formula One for Sauber. In endurance racing (motorsport), endurance racing, Hülkenberg won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2015 24 Hours of Le Mans, 2015 with Por ...
and a long pit stop caused him to finish outside the points positions. At the , Sainz started in twentieth and last place following an engine problem in qualifying. He had made his way to fifth place by the penultimate lap, which became fourth place when
Alex Albon was spun around by
Lewis Hamilton
Sir Lewis Carl Davidson Hamilton (born 7 January 1985) is a British racing driver who competes in Formula One for Scuderia Ferrari, Ferrari. Hamilton has won a joint-record seven Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles—tied with M ...
ahead. Sainz was later elevated to third place after Hamilton received a penalty, earning him his first podium in Formula One. At the season-ending , Sainz passed Hülkenberg on the final lap to take tenth place, scoring one point and earning sixth place in the drivers' championship, one point ahead of Pierre Gasly and four ahead of Albon, both of whom spent part of the season in the superior Red Bull. Sainz scored 96 points over the season, compared to 49 for teammate Norris.
2020
Sainz remained at McLaren alongside Norris for 2020, and began the season with a fifth-place finish at the . He qualified third for the , his best career qualifying result at that time. A slow pit stop contributed to him dropping to ninth place by the finish, however Sainz achieved his first
fastest lap in Formula One and in doing so set a new
Red Bull Ring
The Red Bull Ring is a motorsport race track in Spielberg, Austria, Spielberg, Styria, Austria. The race circuit was founded as Österreichring (translation: Austrian Circuit) and hosted the Austrian Grand Prix for 18 consecutive years, from t ...
track record. Sainz was in fourth place with two laps of the remaining but suffered a tyre puncture and was ultimately classified thirteenth. He started the
70th Anniversary Grand Prix outside the top ten, but had progressed to fourth place when he entered the pits. A slow pit stop then dropped him back and he went on to finish thirteenth. He finished his home race, the , in sixth place, but then failed to start the due to a power unit issue on a reconnaissance lap.
At the , Sainz qualified third behind the two
Mercedes drivers. He lost places during the pit stops and was in sixth place when the race was
red-flagged for
Charles Leclerc
Charles Marc Hervé Perceval Leclerc (; born 16 October 1997) is a Monégasque racing driver who competes in Formula One for Ferrari. Leclerc was runner-up in the Formula One World Drivers' Championship in with Ferrari, and has won Grands ...
's accident. He passed three cars and benefited from Lewis Hamilton's penalty to move up to second place behind Pierre Gasly with twenty laps remaining. He ultimately finished 0.4 seconds behind Gasly to take his second podium and what was at the time his career best race finish. Sainz retired from the next two races; he was involved in a multi-car start-line accident at the and then crashed into a wall on the first lap of the . Seven consecutive points finishes then followed. He finished sixth at the having briefly led the race after gaining six positions in the first two laps. He started the in fifteenth place due to a penalty for impeding Sergio Pérez in qualifying, but gained six positions on the first lap and went on to finish fifth. A brake failure in qualifying at the caused him to qualify fifteenth, but he progressed to fifth place by the end of the race.
Sainz finished the 2020 season sixth in the Drivers' Championship for the second consecutive year. He accumulated 105 points to Norris's 97 and claimed six top-five finishes which, at the time, were both career highs.
Ferrari (2021–2024)
2021

Sainz joined
Scuderia Ferrari
Scuderia Ferrari (; ), currently racing under Scuderia Ferrari HP, is the racing division of luxury Italian auto manufacturer Ferrari and the racing team that competes in Formula One racing. The team is also known by the nickname "the Pranc ...
on a two-year contract from the season partnering
Charles Leclerc
Charles Marc Hervé Perceval Leclerc (; born 16 October 1997) is a Monégasque racing driver who competes in Formula One for Ferrari. Leclerc was runner-up in the Formula One World Drivers' Championship in with Ferrari, and has won Grands ...
and replacing
Sebastian Vettel. He qualified and finished in eighth place at the
Bahrain Grand Prix
The Bahrain Grand Prix (), officially known as the Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix for sponsorship reasons, is a Formula One motor racing event in Bahrain. The first race took place at the Bahrain International Circuit on 4 April 2004. It made hist ...
, his first race for the team. He started eleventh at the
Emilia Romagna Grand Prix but progressed to fifth place by the end of the race. He failed to score points at the despite starting fifth, stating "we got it wrong with strategy". He took his third career podium and first with Ferrari at the , where he benefited from Leclerc's failure to start and a pit stop issue for
Valtteri Bottas to finish second. Tyre wear issues meant neither Ferrari driver scored points at the .
Sainz recovered from a twelfth-place start at the to finish sixth. A collision with
George Russell on the first lap of sprint qualifying at the dropped Sainz to the back of the field, but he recovered places in sprint qualifying and in the race to finish sixth.
Sainz crashed in qualifying for the and started fifteenth. He finished fourth on track, but claimed his fourth career podium finish after Sebastian Vettel's disqualification. He achieved his then-career-best qualifying position at the , starting second, and took the lead from former teammate Lando Norris on the first lap. Sainz went on to finish the race third.
He recovered to eighth place at the having started from the back of the grid due to engine component penalties. Sainz achieved his fourth podium of the season at the , but criticised the handling of the final-lap restart as being positioned behind lapped cars "nearly cost
im hispodium".
Sainz ended the season fifth in the Drivers' Championship with 164.5 points, two positions and 5.5 points ahead of teammate Leclerc. His ability to adapt quickly to Ferrari and his performances relative to Leclerc were widely praised.
2022: Maiden win and pole position
Sainz continued at Ferrari alongside Leclerc for 2022. He qualified third for the season-opening
Bahrain Grand Prix
The Bahrain Grand Prix (), officially known as the Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix for sponsorship reasons, is a Formula One motor racing event in Bahrain. The first race took place at the Bahrain International Circuit on 4 April 2004. It made hist ...
. He ran in third place until Max Verstappen's retirement, allowing him into second place behind Leclerc to claim a Ferrari 1–2 finish and an early lead in the
Constructors' Championship. A mistake and then a
red flag in qualifying at the meant he started in ninth place. He dropped places at the start and then spun into the gravel, ending his race on lap two. He crashed in qualifying for the and then a collision with Daniel Ricciardo ended his race at the first corner. He finished fourth at the , his best ever result at his home race, despite having earlier spun and dropped to eleventh. Sainz qualified and finished second at the , but a hydraulics issue caused his third retirement of the year at the . He was runner-up at the , less than a second behind Verstappen.
For his 150th Formula One race start, the , Sainz took his first Formula One
pole position
In a motorsports race, the pole position is usually the best and "statistically the most advantageous" starting position on the track. The pole position is usually earned by the driver with the best qualifying times in the trials before the ra ...
in a wet qualifying session, beating Verstappen by 0.034 seconds. He was overtaken in the race by Verstappen, but regained the lead when Verstappen slowed with damage. He pitted for soft tyres in the closing laps and passed Leclerc to claim his maiden win in Formula One.
Sainz was running third at the when an engine failure ended his race. He started at the back of the grid at the after taking new engine components and finished fifth despite a time penalty for an unsafe pit release. He took his second pole position at the , promoted to the front as Verstappen took an engine penalty, but dropped behind both Red Bulls to finish third.
Sainz finished fifth at the but was demoted to eighth by a penalty for an unsafe pit release. He started eighteenth at the with an engine component penalty but recovered to finish fourth. At the rain-affected , he crashed out from third place on the opening lap. He claimed his third pole position at the , but retired with damage after being hit by George Russell at the first corner. After the final race, Sainz had matched his 2021 position with fifth in the Drivers' Championship and scored 246 points to Leclerc's 308.
Sainz signed a contract extension until the end of 2024.
2023
Sainz began the 2023 season by qualifying and finishing fourth at the . He finished fourth at the but was penalised and demoted to twelfth place for making contact with Fernando Alonso at the second restart. Sainz criticised the penalty as being "unfair" and Alonso agreed that it was too harsh; Ferrari lodged a formal protest against the decision but were unsuccessful. Sainz qualified third at the but finished fifth. He crashed in practice at the and spun during the race, dropping him from fourth at the start to eighth at the finish. He qualified second at his home race, the , behind Max Verstappen. He was unable to hold off the Mercedes cars or Verstappen's teammate Sergio Pérez and finished the race fifth, later commenting that tyre degradation was a weakness of
his team's car.

Sainz crashed in practice at the and was then penalised for impeding Pierre Gasly in qualifying, causing him to start the race eleventh. He recovered to finish fifth. He started the fifth, however both Ferrari drivers made pit stops prior to a safety car period that other drivers took advantage of, dropping Sainz to tenth place at the finish line. At the , he crashed in practice and then qualified eleventh. He scored points by finishing the race eighth. He scored points again by finishing fourth in the sprint, but retired from the main race due to damage from a first-lap collision with
Oscar Piastri. He achieved his first pole position of the year at the , 0.013 seconds ahead of Verstappen. He was passed by both Red Bulls during the race but defended from teammate Leclerc to finish third, his first podium of the season. He took pole position again at the next race, the , and converted this into his second Formula One victory. This ended Red Bull's streak of fifteen consecutive wins and Max Verstappen's win streak of ten, and marked the only race of 2023 not won by Red Bull. Sainz led the entire race distance and he and former teammate Lando Norris held off Mercedes drivers George Russell and Lewis Hamilton in the closing laps.
Sainz scored points in the sprint, but qualified twelfth for the main race and then failed to start due to a fuel leak. He finished fourth at the but was promoted to the podium after Hamilton's disqualification. He qualified second at the to make an all-Ferrari front row, but both cars were overtaken by Verstappen and Hamilton in the race. At the inaugural , Sainz hit a loose
manhole cover
A manhole cover is a removable plate forming the lid over the opening of a manhole, an opening large enough for a person to pass through that is used as an access point for an underground vault or pipe. It is designed to prevent anyone or anythi ...
in practice, causing the first practice session to be cancelled and the second to be delayed so that officials could inspect the rest of the track. He went on to qualify second behind Leclerc, but the damage to his car had required Ferrari to replace components and resulted in a ten-place grid penalty, which Ferrari team principal
Frédéric Vasseur described as "unacceptable". Sainz finished the race sixth. He crashed in practice at the season-ending and placed sixteenth in qualifying, after which he accused other drivers of deliberately impeding him. Ferrari left him out on track until the final lap in the hope of a safety car, but with no chance of scoring points, the team retired his car in the pits. Sainz described the result, which dropped him from fourth in the Drivers' Championship before the race to seventh, as "very disappointing". He ended his third season with Ferrari on 200 points to Leclerc's 206.
2024

At the , Sainz began the 2024 season by qualifying fourth and finishing on the podium in third, ahead of teammate Charles Leclerc. During the weekend, Sainz fell ill with
appendicitis
Appendicitis is inflammation of the Appendix (anatomy), appendix. Symptoms commonly include right lower abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, fever and anorexia (symptom), decreased appetite. However, approximately 40% of people do not have these t ...
and was unable to participate. While he took part in FP1 and FP2, he missed the rest of the weekend to undergo surgery; he was replaced by reserve driver
Oliver Bearman
Oliver James Bearman (; born 8 May 2005) is a British racing driver who competes in Formula One for Haas F1 Team, Haas.
Born in London and raised in Chelmsford, Bearman began competitive kart racing aged seven, winning several national and cont ...
. Having recovered from his surgery, Sainz returned at the , qualifying second. He capitalised on Max Verstappen's retirement to win the race ahead of Leclerc, marking Sainz's third Formula One race victory and the first Ferrari one-two finish since the
2022 Bahrain Grand Prix. He took another podium finish at the , passing Leclerc to finish third.
After 3 races without a podium Sainz finished third at the
Monaco Grand Prix
The Monaco Grand Prix () is a Formula One motor racing event held annually on the Circuit de Monaco, in late May or early June. Run since 1929, it is widely considered to be one of the most important and prestigious automobile races in the wo ...
taking his 4th podium of the season. He would follow this result up by retiring from the
Canadian Grand Prix
The Canadian Grand Prix () is an annual motor racing event held since 1961. It has been part of the Formula One World Championship since 1967. It was first staged at Mosport Park in Bowmanville, Ontario, as a sports car event, before alterna ...
after he spun into
Alex Albon. Sainz then finished a frustrating 6th at his
home grand prix but bounced back by finishing third at the
Austrian Grand Prix even though he benefitted from Max Verstappen's and
Lando Norris
Lando Norris (; born 13 November 1999) is a British racing driver who competes in Formula One for McLaren. Norris was runner-up in the Formula One World Drivers' Championship in with McLaren, and has won Formula One Grands Prix, Grands Prix ...
's collision to get the final podium place.
Sainz's next 3 races consisted of 5th place at the
British Grand Prix
The British Grand Prix is a Grand Prix motor racing event organised in the United Kingdom by Motorsport UK. First held by the Royal Automobile Club (RAC) in 1926 British Grand Prix, 1926, the British Grand Prix has been held annually since 1948 ...
, 6th place at the
Hungarian Grand Prix and 6th at the
Belgian Grand Prix meaning at the summer break Sainz sat 5th in the championship with 162 points.
Sainz scored a second-place at the and won the from pole position, before crashing out of the rain-affected . He recorded a third-place at the and sixth in
Qatar
Qatar, officially the State of Qatar, is a country in West Asia. It occupies the Geography of Qatar, Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it shares Qatar–Saudi Arabia border, its sole land b ...
. At the season-ending , he finished on the podium to clinch fifth-place in the championship on a career-best 290 points.
Sainz left Ferrari after the 2024 season and was replaced by Lewis Hamilton for . After his departure, Ferrari rewarded him with his race-winning
F1-75 chassis from 2022.
Williams (2025–present)

Replaced by
Lewis Hamilton
Sir Lewis Carl Davidson Hamilton (born 7 January 1985) is a British racing driver who competes in Formula One for Scuderia Ferrari, Ferrari. Hamilton has won a joint-record seven Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles—tied with M ...
at
Ferrari
Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello. Founded in 1939 by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988), the company built Auto Avio Costruzioni 815, its first car in 1940, adopted its current name in 1945, and be ...
, Sainz joined
Williams from onwards on a two-year deal, partnered by
Alexander Albon. He crashed on the first lap of the rain-affected under
safety car
In motorsport, a safety car, or a pace car, is a car that limits the speed of competing cars or motorcycles on a racetrack in the case of a ''caution period,'' such as an obstruction on the track or bad weather. The safety car aims to enable the ...
conditions. In
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
, Sainz finished seventeenth in the sprint and tenth in the main race after disqualifications for
Charles Leclerc
Charles Marc Hervé Perceval Leclerc (; born 16 October 1997) is a Monégasque racing driver who competes in Formula One for Ferrari. Leclerc was runner-up in the Formula One World Drivers' Championship in with Ferrari, and has won Grands ...
,
Lewis Hamilton
Sir Lewis Carl Davidson Hamilton (born 7 January 1985) is a British racing driver who competes in Formula One for Scuderia Ferrari, Ferrari. Hamilton has won a joint-record seven Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles—tied with M ...
, and
Pierre Gasly
Pierre Jean-Jacques Gasly (; born 7 February 1996) is a French racing driver who competes in Formula One for Alpine. Gasly won the 2020 Italian Grand Prix with AlphaTauri.
Born and raised in Normandy, Gasly began competitive kart racing age ...
. He finished outside of the points at the , having accrued a grid penalty for impeding Hamilton in qualifying and a fine for missing the
national anthem
A national anthem is a patriotic musical composition symbolizing and evoking eulogies of the history and traditions of a country or nation. The majority of national anthems are marches or hymns in style. American, Central Asian, and European ...
due to illness. Sainz started eighth in
Bahrain
Bahrain, officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, is an island country in West Asia. Situated on the Persian Gulf, it comprises a small archipelago of 50 natural islands and an additional 33 artificial islands, centered on Bahrain Island, which mak ...
, engaging in close battles with
Yuki Tsunoda
is a Japanese racing driver who competes in Formula One for Red Bull Racing.
Born in Sagamihara and raised in Tokyo, Tsunoda began competitive kart racing aged nine. Supported by Honda since 2016 through the , Tsunoda graduated to junior formu ...
and
Andrea Kimi Antonelli
Andrea Kimi Antonelli (; born 25 August 2006) is an Italian racing driver who competes in Formula One for Mercedes-Benz in Formula One, Mercedes.
Born and raised in Bologna, Antonelli is the son of sportscar racing driver Marco Antonelli. Afte ...
; he sustained race-ending
sidepod
The following is a glossary of terminology used in motorsport, along with explanations of their meanings.
0–9
;1–2 finish: When two vehicles from the same team finish first and second in a race. Can be extended to 1–2–3 or 1–2–3– ...
damage with the former and received a penalty for forcing the latter off-track. He returned with a season-best performance at the , qualifying sixth and finishing eighth.
Other ventures
In February 2025, Sainz was appointed as a director of the
Grand Prix Drivers' Association (GPDA), the Formula One drivers' trade union. He replaced
Sebastian Vettel, who retired from
Formula One
Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...
at the end of
2022
The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...
.
As a director, Sainz's primary role is to relay the paddock's concerns about safety, racing quality, and the junior driver pipeline to the GPDA's full-time personnel.
Sainz owns a hamburger restaurant in Madrid named Boogie Burger which he started in June 2023 with a group of friends.
Personal life
Sainz dated fellow Spaniard Isabel Hernáez from 2017 until 2023. As of 2024 he is dating Scottish model Rebecca Donaldson.
He has lived in both
Madrid
Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...
and in
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
. He also maintains a residence in
Monaco
Monaco, officially the Principality of Monaco, is a Sovereign state, sovereign city-state and European microstates, microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Regions of Italy, Italian region of Liguria, in Western Europe, ...
. Sainz was robbed of his watch in Milan in 2023 but he ran and captured his assailant.
His personal car collection includes several
Ferrari
Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello. Founded in 1939 by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988), the company built Auto Avio Costruzioni 815, its first car in 1940, adopted its current name in 1945, and be ...
s: the
F8 Tributo,
812 Competizione, and
Daytona SP3.
Karting record
Karting career summary
Racing record
Racing career summary
† As Sainz was a guest driver, he was ineligible for points.
Season still in progress.
Complete Formula BMW Europe results
(
key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)
Complete Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 results
(
key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)
Complete Formula Renault 2.0 Northern European Cup results
(
key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)
Complete Formula 3 Euro Series results
(
key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)
† Driver did not finish the race but was classified as he completed over 90% of the race distance.
Complete British Formula 3 results
(
key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)
Complete GP3 Series results
(
key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)
Complete Formula Renault 3.5 Series results
(
key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)
Did not finish, but was classified as he had completed more than 90% of the race distance.
Complete Formula One results
(
key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in ''italics'' indicates fastest lap)
Did not finish, but was classified as he had completed more than 90% of the race distance.
Half points awarded as less than 75% of race distance was completed.
Season still in progress.
Notes
References
External links
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sainz, Carlos Jr.
1994 births
Living people
Racing drivers from Madrid
Spanish racing drivers
Karting World Championship drivers
Formula BMW Pacific drivers
Formula BMW Europe drivers
British Formula Renault 2.0 drivers
Formula Renault Eurocup drivers
Euroformula Open Championship drivers
Formula Renault 2.0 NEC drivers
British Formula Three Championship drivers
Formula 3 Euro Series drivers
FIA Formula 3 European Championship drivers
Spanish GP3 Series drivers
World Series Formula V8 3.5 drivers
Spanish Formula One drivers
Toro Rosso Formula One drivers
Renault Formula One drivers
McLaren Formula One drivers
Ferrari Formula One drivers
Williams Formula One drivers
EuroInternational drivers
Epsilon Euskadi drivers
Tech 1 Racing drivers
De Villota Motorsport drivers
Koiranen GP drivers
Signature Team drivers
Carlin racing drivers
Arden International drivers
Zeta Corse drivers
DAMS drivers
Formula One race winners