2024 started with a bang for the Sainz family as Carlos Sainz Sr. claimed a victory in the Dakar Rally. In what was an historic occasion, the 61-year-old became the oldest driver to achieve this feat. As a result, the rally veteran made his family and his son Carlos Sainz Jr. proud, who now wants to follow in his footsteps.
Sainz Sr. won the historic rally after recovering from an injury in 2023, and his son was equally involved with him in the race. Sainz Jr, who drives for Ferrari, has been a constant support to his father over the years. There are things he advice his father on that may have contributed to their success.
As Dakar is an endurance race, Sainz Jr. asked his father to run every day to improve his stamina. In the end, the two-time rally winner claimed the victory ahead of Guillaume de Mevius and Sebastian Loeb.
Sainz Jr. said as per Marca,
“They have not made a single mistake, it has been a perfect Dakar, the most intelligent that I have seen in my life. He managed it perfectly. I think he was smarter than anyone else and managed the race as he knows how.”
The Ferrari ace added that his father did not just make him proud, but everyone close them – their family, friends and all the Spaniards. With Sainz Sr. having such a great start to the year, his son wants to do the same now. He wants to do it for the “Sainz family” and for that, Ferrari needs to be at the top of their game.
Carlos Sainz Sr. wants Ferrari to improve in 2024
The 2023 F1 season wasn’t great for Scuderia Ferrari. They failed to make amends for their blunders in 2022, and in a lot of ways, took a step backward. This is something Sainz, and arguably every single person associated with Ferrari wants to avoid. Carlos Sainz Jr.’s father wants the Maranello-based outfit to improve significantly in 2024.
The 61-year-old, however, shared his confidence in the Italian team. He believes that Fred Vasseur’s team can make important progress this year to take Red Bull head-on.
Sainz Sr. also has immense faith in his son. He believes that the Madrid-born driver has made significant improvements over the years, especially since he moved to Ferrari in 2021. He also spoke about his son’s continuous knack for improving. All of this was possible for the Spanish F1 driver at a relatively young age.
Sainz Jr. was the only non-Red Bull driver to take a win in the 2023 F1 season. He will be looking to follow it up in 2024 with more wins, and his most vocal supporter will be his father.
