Carlos Sainz may still be out of a seat for 2025. However, that doesn’t mean he is out of support in F1. After a sensational comeback victory in Australia, Sainz stole the headlines in the paddock. Everyone was all but praise for the Spaniard and happy for his victory. One such person was his former boss at McLaren – Zak Brown. The McLaren CEO expressed his delight and congratulated the Ferrari driver with a heartfelt message after the race.
As seen in a Twitter (now X) post, Brown said in an F1 TV interview, “Great to see Carlos [Sainz] win.” Brown referred to the #55 driver as a “friend of the family”. The McLaren boss then continued, “if it can’t be one of the papaya guys then Carlos would be who you’d like to see on the top step”.
Sainz has been one of those drivers who has developed good relations with several team bosses. His most fond stint came at McLaren in 2019 and 2020. Despite driving for the Woking team for only two years, the Spaniard developed a great bond with his then-teammate, Lando Norris.
Moreover, even his bosses, including Brown and then-team principal Andreas Seidl, were mighty impressed with the 29-year-old. They certainly were a bit unhappy when Sainz decided to jump ship to Ferrari for 2021. Nonetheless, Brown and Co. understood the natural career progression that the 29-year-old wanted.
Hence, it is no surprise that Brown is happy for Sainz‘s win in Australia. In fact, seeing him on the podium alongside Norris, who is McLaren’s lead man now, is a great sight for every member and fan of the Papaya team.
The uncanny trends of Carlos Sainz’s wins
Whenever Carlos Sainz wins a race in F1, it becomes a memorable event. Sainz has won three Grands Prix now and all of them have some common events that can be named as uncanny trends. The first one is the most consistent related to George Russell.
At all of Sainz’s wins – Silverstone 2022, Singapore 2023, and Australia 2024, Russell has crashed out of the race. In Silverstone, it was on Lap 1 of the Grand Prix with Zhou Guanyu’s horrific crash. Meanwhile, in Singapore, Russell made a mistake on his own to crash into the barriers on the last lap while trying to overtake.
Perhaps, the racing gods ran a similar script for the 2024 Australian GP, as Russell once again crashed in the closing laps of the race, while trying to overtake Fernando Alonso. While Brown is a fan of Sainz winning, the #63 driver would not wish for it if this uncanny trend is to continue!
Another trend related to the Spaniard’s race wins is about Max Verstappen. At all three of the aforementioned races, Verstappen has either had an issue with his car and struggled or retired from the race altogether due to that issue.
In Silverstone, it was some damage to his underfloor that dropped him down to the lower trenches of the top 10, as Sainz inherited the lead and the win. Meanwhile, in Singapore, the Red Bull car had a wretched weekend that limited the Dutchman to fight at the front.
Meanwhile, in Australia, Verstappen’s rear right brakes overheated and caught fire. This issue made him retire the car on Lap 3 itself.
