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“I’m here to visit my good friend Courtois!”: Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz and Real Madrid star Thibaut Courtois go up against each other in a virtual F1 duel

Somin Bhattacharjee
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"I'm here to visit my good friend Courtois!": Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz and Real Madrid star Thibaut Courtois go up against each other in a virtual F1 duel

Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz took part in a virtual F1 battle against Real Madrid’s star goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois earlier this week. 

Sainz is a huge fan of Real Madrid. It’s a tradition that runs in his family as even his father Carlos Sainz Sr. has been a fan of Los Blancos throughout his life. In fact, Sainz Sr. was named as the club’s honorary member, back in 2021.

In a video posted by the 13 time European Champions, Sainz Jr. appeared to visit Valdebebas, their training complex. There, he met up with Real’s goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois.

Courtois is one of the best goalkeepers in the world, and meeting up with the Ferrari’s F1 star, was a big moment for both parties. Sainz then took part in a duel against the Belgian, on the F1 2021 game.

The two athletes were to compete in a one-lap time trial shootout around the Jeddah Corniche Circuit on the game. Sainz went up first and clocked a time of 1.29.395. Courtois is an avid F1 gamer himself. He repeatedly takes part in F1 e-sports events and has competed alongside the likes of Lando Norris and Charles Leclerc.

Courtois’ time around the Corniche circuit came out to be 1.30.978. He was over a second behind the Spaniard but considering the fact that he went up against an F1 driver, it wasn’t too bad!

Also read: Former McLaren driver claims has no intention of returning to the sport’s midfield

Carlos Sainz and Thibaut Courtois then went up against each other in a game of FIFA

Soon, they traded their virtual racing suits for some football shoes. After losing to Sainz on F1 2021, Courtois looked forward to defeating the Madrid born driver in a game of FIFA.

Sainz wanted to spice things up a bit, so he asked Courtois to play him with no rules. “In a regular game you’re gonna beat me,” he said. “Let’s play no rules!”

The Ferrari driver conceded a goal early on, but equalized right after the half time break. That seemed to wake the Belgian keeper up, as he pushed hard, ultimately earning a 2-1 victory.

They even shared some light moments throughout the game with Sainz repeatedly highlighting his frustration over how good Courtois was in the game. “What a pain in the a** this Courtois is!” Sainz exclaimed midway into the game. “What have they done to you on FIFA man?”

It was certainly a video that captured some light hearted moments between two of the most famous sportsmen in the world.

Also read: George Russell explains how denying a move to DTM saved his F1 career

About the author

Somin Bhattacharjee

Somin Bhattacharjee

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Formula 1 Editor Somin Bhattacharjee fell for the sport as well as Fernando Alonso on the same day — during the Spaniard’s thrilling victory at the German GP in 2010. Over the years, the passion magnified manyfold, and metamorphosed into a writing career in 2021. Though holding a bachelor's degree in marketing, Somin discovered his true calling in writing. He has penned over 2,700 articles for TheSportsRush, presenting a diverse range — news reports, opinions, and exclusives. A true Tiffosi, Somin never gives up on a chance to defend the Ferrari boys as a fan. As a sports writer though, he remains objective to the core and relishes opportunities to follow and engage in dissecting the action during races. That’s where the real thrill lies for him. Beyond the racetrack, Somin plays different sports including soccer. He enjoys exploring other sporting events and proudly supports Spanish soccer club Real Madrid.

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