Carlos Sainz

Carlos Sainz, born on 1 September 1994 in Madrid, is the son of two-time World Rally Champion Carlos Sainz Sr. Along with Max Verstappen, he is one of the first two Formula 1 drivers born after Ayrton Senna’s death in 1994. Via karting, where he won the Junior Monaco Kart Cup among other titles, he joined the Red Bull junior programme in 2010.

In 2014 he won the Formula Renault 3.5 Series ahead of Pierre Gasly, and in 2015 he made his Formula 1 debut for Toro Rosso alongside that same Verstappen. After spells at Renault, he moved to McLaren in 2019, replacing his childhood hero Fernando Alonso, and picked up several podiums there.

In 2021 he moved to Ferrari alongside Charles Leclerc. After a winless first season, he took his first Grand Prix win at Silverstone in 2022, followed by further wins in Singapore (2023) and Australia and Mexico City (2024), a year in which he finished with a personal career-best 290 points and fifth in the championship despite undergoing an appendectomy. As a farewell gift, Ferrari gave him the chassis of his first race-winning car from 2022.

After Ferrari signed Lewis Hamilton, Sainz moved to Williams in 2025 alongside Alexander Albon and took his first podium for the team in Azerbaijan, making him only the second driver in history after Alain Prost to podium for Ferrari, McLaren and Williams. He has also been a director of the GPDA drivers’ association since February 2025. Sainz is a committed Real Madrid supporter and a passionate collector of Ferrari cars.