Scuderia Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz Jr. was voted the best male sportsperson by the Community of Madrid on Monday.
Sainz’s rise to stardom in F1 was gradual as the Spaniard had to wait for seven years before getting his first win. He made his debut with Toro Rosso in 2015 and went on to drive for Renault and McLaren before joining Ferrari in 2021.
With McLaren, Sainz was able to show the world how good he was. This was because the Surrey-based outfit gave him a car that could regularly finish in the points and fight for occasional podium results. This led to Ferrari believing that he was the right person to team up with alongside Charles Leclerc.
In his first Ferrari year, he earned four podium finishes. This season, meanwhile, he became a regular in the fight for top-3 and even got his first race win in Silverstone. As a result, the Community of Madrid voted him as the best sportsperson of the year.
Carlos Sainz honored alongside Real Madrid legend Marcelo
Sainz was born in the city of Madrid and grew up in the Spanish capital itself. He is deeply associated with the city and is also a huge supporter of Real Madrid C.F, who are 14-time European Champions.
Alongside Alonso, Sainz is the only other Spanish driver in F1 and is representing the city of Madrid. As a result, the city decided to honor him by choosing him as the best male sportsperson of 2022.
This ceremony took place at the Real Casa de Correos which is the Spanish Royal Postal Office. Sainz was not the only athlete to be honored on Monday evening. Real Madrid legend Marcelo himself was also presented with an award, for his services to the city.
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2022 was a year of mixed results for Sainz
For the first time in his career, Sainz had a race winning car in 2022. The 28-year-old entered the season with high expectations, and many expected him and Leclerc to be close throughout. Unfortunately, it took him far too long to get adjusted to the F1-75 and consequently, he struggled massively in the opening few races of the season.
With time, however, he got up to speed and his performances started getting better. Sainz topped his season off with a first ever career win at the 2022 British GP in Silverstone this July.
Despite that, the Spaniard will be hoping for a much better 2023 campaign. Both Ferrari drivers and the team made multiple mistakes which led to them losing out on big points for both Championships. That is something they will want to change.
