Carlos Sainz Will Need To Quickly Rediscover Form At Spain

One of the most talented and often much-talked-about drivers in the whole of Formula 1 happens to be Carlos Sainz jr. Ever since he joined Ferrari, his career experienced a new jump and experienced a fresh wave of sorts, one marked by renewed vigour. He would waste no time, whatsoever, in proving his worth to the Maranello camp by beating the more experienced member at the team in his very first year: Charles Leclerc.

The smooth operator in smooth form

But when he won at Singapore last year, after the entire grid witnessed what could only be called a pure Red Bull assault powered by Verstappen, Sainz jumped into a bandwagon of newfound praise. He earned newfound respect. Perhaps of the kinds that he earned when he beat both Red Bull drivers to win at Silverstone in 2022.

And then recently, by winning the 2024 Australian Grand Prix, Carlos Sainz became the first non-Red Bull driver of this ongoing championship to win a Formula 1 Grand Prix. His winning act would be emulated by the brilliant and ballsy Lando Norris.

Carlos Sainz’s superb run at Australia

Though, what was immensely brilliant about Sainz’s Melbourne triumph was that just a race back, he was nowhere in contention of even standing on the grid; having been hospitalised given his appendicitis situation at Jeddah, home to the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.

That being said, Ferrari recently endured a dark weekend at Canada, the legendary home to the one and only Gilles Villeneuve. At the Montreal-bound Canadian Grand Prix, both Ferrari drivers retired from the 70-lap contest; Leclerc being the first to register a DNF.

Though, on his part, Sainz, who had completed more than the halfway stage, spun, slides, went onto the grass and then endured his DNF.

And while it’s not that he has been grappling poor form having bagged a fighting third at Monaco most recently, Carlos Sainz jr. would do well to reflect on the fact that the next race is his home event.

As a matter of fact, the Madrid-born driver will soon be contesting in what will be his 10th race on his home turf at Catalunya, home to the Spanish Grand Prix. But having said that, Sainz is yet to pick up a podium on home soil.

In the last two events at Spain, Carlos Sainz jr. did well enough to record a top-five race finish at his home race event. Interestingly, in 2023, he would score a fifth at Barcelona, prior to which he would score a personal best of P4 on his home turf.

Can 2024, therefore, be any different and bring about a change in fortunes for the massively talented Smooth Operator of F1?

For legions of fans who are no longer strangers to the racing prowess of the 29-year-old, nothing could get better than Sainz securing a top-three finish. He already has four podiums to his name and adding another would sound delightful.