Carlos Sainz is a foodie by heart and has many fascinating stories about his relation with food while trying to remain amongst the top race drivers in the world. Sainz knows he has a good metabolism, which allows him to be liberal with his diet on occasions and not put on weight astronomically.
“I can eat as much as I want and I will never go above 73 kilos”, Carlos Sainz had said in a 2023 interview while fondly discussing foods that appeal to him. Being Spanish, of course, tortillas and croquetas are on the menu for him especially when he is back home.
“Once the [F1] weekend starts on Thursday, you follow a very specific diet, you know it’s going to go well for your stomach, but on Sunday night we all go out for a good dinner, or maybe on Wednesdays before the race weekend starts, so you always get to taste a bit the city where you go.” Sainz added, which clearly suggests that Sainz knows how to control his eating habits when needed.
With his first season with Williams round the corner, and testing about to commence, it seems he has his ‘professional driver’ hat on. And isn’t ready to consume any ‘fried food’ that might tempt him.
So much so that he was ready to run away from the Williams canteen for it. Revealing his first experience there, the Spaniard said in a Youtube video, “I saw the bacon and sausage wraps. I went to them and then I said…I reminded myself I was training. And I had to run away“.
Apart from having good self-control, Sainz makes it a point to be on a protein-rich diet and consume enough calories for him to burn so that he can go about his stringent workout routine without bothering about injuries.
Train, eat, sleep, repeat!! Great to be back training!
–#Carlossainz pic.twitter.com/PefqZzea7T
— Carlos Sainz (@Carlossainz55) January 14, 2022
For tough training sessions, Sainz also consumes a fair amount of carbs, supplements (which include probiotics), fish oils as well as Vitamin D.
The off-season is arguably the biggest test for drivers as this is a time when they can slack if they are not careful since there are no race weekends, and hence, no urgency to maintain optimum fitness levels week in and week out. However, Sainz enjoys staying fit so much that he believes this is never an issue.
In an interview back in 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic had brought life to a standstill, the Spaniard revealed the various exercises he did to stay fit. For cardio, he said he often uses the treadmill, the bike, and the cross trainer.
Since strong neck muscles are arguably the most important to manage the high G-forces in F1, Sainz stated he often uses resistant bands to strengthen his neck. With the physical demands of F1 being so high, it is no surprise that very few drivers like Sainz are able to balance what they want to eat with what they need to eat.
