A Tribute to Carlos Sainz – F1’s Unsung Hero

Silverstone, 2019. A young driver, aged just 26 back then, was in his maiden year with McLaren, an iconic stable in the sport one dreams of driving for. Rather importantly, the venue was the Constructor’s home race. Understandably, there was an air of anticipation around the British Grand Prix. 

It’s more than just one of the fastest tracks on the planet. It’s the sport’s oldest venue and historically the birthplace of modern Formula 1, circa 1950, as we know it. 

Something had to give.

The Smooth Operator is Born

Something special was expected of the Papaya-liveried machines. 

But in a year when the car was recalcitrant to concepts such as blazing speeds and tight cornering pace, the young driver could manage only thirteenth (P13) in qualifying. 

Perhaps the kind of result that would have incited someone like a Fernando Alonso who, rather notably, had called out the underperforming engine from yesteryear’s as being “GP2”-esque!

However, one bad Saturday wasn’t going to ruin it for McLaren. The day after would bring about something similar to a warm, welcoming Notting Hill afternoon. 

On Sunday, July 14, the very same driver would finish the race in sixth and, immediately upon crossing the checkered flag, broke out on the radio singing Sade’s “Smooth Operator!” 

When asked by the pit crew and his race engineer as to what prompted the song sequence, he exclaimed ‘nothing in particular’. 

The Streak Continues

One race later, from the balmy English weather, the setting changed to the cool German breeze as the Hockenheimring was set to host a mega Grand Prix. The McLaren lad scored a fifth, a performance that would be mirrored by his race result at the Hungaroring, which was the very next race. 

And in a matter of six more races, come the Brazilian Grand Prix, the very bloke driving McLaren #55 raced home to collect a valiant podium. It was to be a first for his team that year, by which time his teammate, Lando Norris, rather sordidly, had gone on to register 5 DNF’s. 

But despite the race win belonging to Max Verstappen, Carlos Sainz Jr. had found his moment.  

And with that, Formula 1 found its Smooth Operator, who, seven years since that challenging but every bit exciting maiden stint with McLaren, has gone on to register some rather smooth drives in motorsport’s top flight.  

F1’s Most Underrated Driver?

In a sport where our attention is often on the ones who dominate the front of the grid – and shouldn’t it be that way – one of the most underrated moments in Carlos Sainz’s journey is the very fact that he beat his teammate Leclerc in his first year with Scuderia Ferrari.  

At the height of the Verstappen v Norris dogfight in 2024, with the duo winning 13 of the 24 races held that season, Sainz somehow found a way to dominate the charts at the Mexican Grand Prix. Local hero, Sergio Perez, the one expected to dominate the race, finished at the rear of the grid.  

Somehow, Carlos Sainz Jr. ends up putting in the results at a time when he’s far from dominating popular discussion around the sport and smoothly seals his moment without much ado. 

And this wasn’t a flash in the pan!

After failing to take part in the 2024 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, thanks to an urgent appendix removal surgery, the Spaniard came out of nowhere to win the very next race that season. 

The cagey streets of Melbourne found a refreshing change in the pecking order towards the early stages of the start of that season, when for a change neither Leclerc nor Verstappen ended as the podium topper. 

Sainz’s Future at Williams

Sainz’s move to Williams at the start of 2025 was generally thought of as a disparate move of sorts, and deemed pretty much a career-toppling one. That very year, at a time when the man who replaced the Madrid-born at Ferrari, Sir Lewis Hamilton, struggled for rhythm, Sainz managed not one but two podiums. 

Each of those valiantly collected at tracks that were as different to general nature of driving and conditions as is a battleship to waltz. At the 2025 Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Carlos struck great rhythm by making it to the front row in quali as he’d score a P2. And later, on race day, he’d capture Williams’ maiden podium of the year as he claimed a well-fought third. At Qatar, he’d finish ahead of Norris of all drivers to take third again. 

Generally speaking, when you speak of a Max Verstappen or Lewis Hamilton, you are never shy of lofty adjectives for all their greatness. You attack the magical powers of consistency to young Kimi at Mercedes, who’s turning up the heat in just his second year in the sport whilst giving a real right to a class act in the form of his teammate, George Russell. You consider Leclerc among the best modern-day qualifiers in the sport, but there’s a strong sense of dependability and trust you place in the capabilities of a driver like Carlos Sainz Jr. 

He’s been in business for over a decade in Formula 1. He’s already raced for titanic outfits in the form of McLaren and Ferrari. The sort of guy who’s utterly unafraid of taking a challenge as exhausting and mentally taxing as holding himself responsible for bringing Williams back to a position of strong contention in modern F1, having spent the last decade as the grid’s backmarkers. 

And yet you have this belief that whilst others will make rattling first-page news in the sport, guys like Carlos Sainz jr, 29 F1 podiums, including 25 with Ferrari, will save the day. 

It’s akin to the last man standing in a critical juncture of a Test match when a battle is at hand, and you’re going to play a dominant hand in which way it turns.  

With spectacular awareness of conditions, genuine intelligence and great self-belief, Carlos has forged a readable reputation already. 

But the biggest question and perhaps even a dilemma, if you like, that he’ll have to contend with is whether he can ever dream of becoming a world champion at 32. He is neither with the Sport’s most dominant teams at the moment nor with one that could instantly tender a bid to become a frequent contender on the F1 podium. 

But again, given the smooth operator that he is, you can always expect some pleasantness and surprising turn of events up ahead, given the man’s talent and the unpredictable nature of Formula One. Isn’t it? 

More F1 Reading

• George Russell and Oscar Piastri Risk Becoming Their Teams’ Clear Number Two as Antonelli and Norris Pull Away
• James Vowles Reveals the ‘Unique’ Carlos Sainz Trait Keeping Williams Together Through Their Toughest Season
• Sergio Perez Admits Cadillac’s ‘Lot of Disappointment’ Forced a Reset as He Reflects on Building an F1 Team From Scratch
• Lando Norris Admits He Can Be ‘Forceful’ Within McLaren as He Leans on Verstappen’s 2025 Title Comeback for Hope

Written by

Dev Tyagi

Black, Parabolica, Monza, Maranello, Toothpicks, Fast, Ferrari, Sainz, Kimilainen, Bellucci, Barrymore, Shai Hope, du Preez, Summers; not winters, Salzburg, Camel, Jaipur, Tea without sugar, Chivalry, Netaji, Simplicity, Deutschland, Allahabad, Ethan Hunt, not 007, Swades, Rommel and Dravid!

More articles by Dev Tyagi →