Carlos Sainz with Clarín: the footballer who wasn’t, his strange theory on Max Verstappen and what it means to run “the hardest race in the world” at 61 years old

The last time he had set foot in the Arabian desert, the Spanish rally legend Carlos Sainz ended up sitting on a dune with a scarf on his head and two broken vertebrae. It was after the violent accident that he broke his car and left him out of the 2023 edition of the Dakar, in Saudi Arabia. “This race is a box of surprises and you have to be prepared for the worst“, he acknowledges. This conference takes place in the last days of last year and now we find ourselves in another desert, that of Atacama, in northern Chile, for the last appointment of the And extreme, a category of electric cars but high vertigo and wholesale sticks, which somehow is the first of the big event among all: “The Toughest Race in the World”as they underline at the Dakar, the rally of rallies, which this year too will be held in Saudi lands (or arenas) and once again has the Madrilenian as its protagonist.

After the blow suffered in the ninth stage of the 2023 Dakar, Carlos Sainz dedicated all of ’24 to preparing the car. This, speaking of the car and his physique, which at 61 years old allows him to continue among the elite of motorsports. “The accident marked the rest of the year. I couldn’t start the season and I dedicated myself completely to preparing for the Dakar”, he explains, sitting on a bench in the pits of Acciona, the Extreme E category team of which is the owner.

Beyond his well-known driving talent, The Madrilenian is a kind of super athlete. And not only because at 61 years old he is tackling the most extreme rally on the planet for the eighteenth time, the one he has already won three times. But why – abandoning the tracks – Sainz seems to be one of those guys who plays everything well. As a boy he thought of trying out for Real Madrid, he was a youth squash champion and also decided to dedicate himself to boxing; His teacher was none other than Miguel Velázquez, one of the 15 world boxing champions that Spain has had in its history. Although he clarifies that he never thought of getting into a ring on a professional level: “I only did it to keep in shape.”

The key to returning to the Dakar after last year’s accident is not to take advantage of his athletic condition: “It’s a bit of everything. But lately, when you get older and become a veteran rider, it’s even more important to keep myself in shape. I do bodybuilding and aerobic work with some of my trainers and we also put my experience into practice to try to be competitive in the Dakar and not suffer too much,” says Clarín under the canvas of the tent that blocks the hot desert sun.

-At this point the annual service is not only essential for the vehicle, but also for the bodywork.

-And in this case the car already has many, many kilometers and the service must be good (laughs).

-What vehicle are we talking about: a Ferrari, a classic…?

-I wouldn’t dare say I have a Ferrari, but I have a good car. Of course, the years are noticeable and every year it becomes more and more important to maintain it.

-In Argentina we say that we are all frustrated footballers: as a football lover and Real Madrid fan, have you felt something similar?

-That desire to play football existed as a child. But I liked cars so much that my head was always thinking about racing. Then I started racing in the World Rally Championship and all my wishes came true there.

The discs, Carlos Jr and the theory on Max Verstappen

Sainz retired from the World Rally Championship in 2004 as the driver who had scored the most points in history. An animal like the Frenchman had to appear Sebastien Loeb to snatch that record. In any case, he appears on several historic podiums: he continues to be the one who has contested the most races (196) and is the third with the most victories, behind Loeb (obviously) and the Finn Marco Gronholm.

“At this point they broke several records, but well, when I retired I was the one with the most points. I did my job in the World Rally Championship, I’m satisfied with my career. I was the first non-Nordic to win in Finland and I managed to be competitive on all surfaces. When I arrived at the World Cup there were specialists on every surface and breaking that trend was… well,” says Sainz with a certain modesty and cuts short.

-When Messi broke the Argentine national team’s goal record, Batistuta felt the bittersweet taste of having been surpassed: what happened to you when Loeb kept some of his marks?

-I am very happy with my career in the World Rally Championship. I won what I won and I know what I did. Every driver has his own way of seeing things about driving, his own style. Comparing different eras is complicated.

-Senna and Schumacher always said that Fangio was the great master of F1: does this camaraderie exist in rallies? Do you feel like a reference for those who came later?

-You should ask him. As I tell you, I feel very proud of what I have done in motorsports. Being the first Spanish World Rally Champion made me very emotional. I can’t complain about what life has thrown at me.

-Was Formula 1 an unfinished business in your career?

-No, I had fun, I had fun and my dream was to always be in the World Rally Championship, racing on snow, racing on dirt and racing in mud. That’s what always captivated me.

-To what extent does it influence your child’s Formula 1 career.

-Well, we are always very close. I have been with him supporting him since his karting days. Obviously I’m a proud father that his son races in Ferrari.

-He was one of the few who could snatch a GP from Max Verstappen… It must be frustrating to race for second place. What does that tell you about the Dutchman?

-It is a great satisfaction to have won a great prize like what happened in Singapore. Verstappen is an outlier and what’s more he has the better car. So when you put together a great car with a car like he had this year, it’s very difficult.

-Was it a flaw in the organization that the Formula 1 championship is becoming increasingly uneven?

-I think that much more equality is needed in Formula 1, but it won’t be easy because the advantage that Red Bull has at the moment is very, very big, much more than what has been seen.

-Further?

-I think that Verstappen in the last races, when he saw himself there for the first time, didn’t want to push more.

-And how does the pilot experience that situation psychologically? Do you work with Carlos Jr?

-In the life of an athlete you must always be happy with yourself. You have to be calm in giving everything you have for a sport where you depend on a car, you depend on many things. So, in the end, the important thing is to be happy that you have given everything, that you have left nothing to chance, that you have paid all the attention possible to the smallest detail and you will have nothing to blame yourself for. Of course, if all this is achieved by achieving victory, then much better.