How Many Championships Has Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz Won Prior to F1?

When Carlos Sainz made the decision to compete, it was anticipated that he would follow in the footsteps of his father, a two-time World Rally Champion, and enter the world of rally racing. The junior Spaniard, however, chose to compete in the highest echelons of motorsport. When discussing his first car experience, we must return to the time when his champion father put him in his Toyota. And since then, many years have passed and Carlos Sainz Sr’s son has turned 28 and is now a well-known figure in Formula 1. Carlos Sainz’s achievements in Formula One are well known to all of us, although many of us are unaware that the underrated Spaniard has won numerous championships prior to competing at the sport’s highest level.

The beginning of a glorious career

Sainz Sr. insisted that his son put academics first from a young age, therefore the child rarely made his way to WRC races. But since karting provided a quick way to get started, Sainz Jr. soon found himself competing and doing well. The junior Sainz started karting at the age of seven in his father’s indoor karting facility in Madrid. At the age of ten, he started taking the competition seriously. In the KF3 class, he won the CIK-FIA Asia Pacific championship in 2008 and finished second in the Spanish championship. The next year, in addition to finishing third in the WSK International Series and second in the Spanish championship, he also won the Monaco Kart Cup and placed second in the European KF3 championship.

Carlos began racing in Formula BMW Europe when he was 15 years old. The Red Bull Junior Team then engaged him for the 2010 season. He won Race Two to become the champion after earning the pole position for both of the Silverstone meetings. He finished fourth in the final European standings after winning three more races as a guest driver in the Pacific series, two of which were in Macau.

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In 2012, Carlos Sainz transitioned to Formula 3 while piloting Carlin’s Dallara F312-Volkswagen. Although it was a patchy campaign, he occasionally stood out, especially in the rain. Sainz finished sixth in Britain and fifth in Europe with four victories, including a double victory at Monza. However, the Spaniard didn’t know that the coming years will totally change his fortunes.

The way to Formula 1

In 2013, he tried his luck in the Formula Renault 3.5 Series, also known as the World Series, for a handful of dates without much success, and the GP3 Series, where he managed to record two podium finishes but ultimately finished in 10th position in the championship. Nevertheless, 2013 wasn’t exactly a disastrous year since he had the chance to drive for the Toro Rosso and Red Bull teams during the Junior Drivers’ test at Silverstone.

When he returned to racing in the Formula Renault 3.5 Series in 2014, everything began to improve. He finished the season with seven victories, six fastest laps, seven pole positions, and the championship title in the final race, becoming the youngest driver to do so. Due to his success, he was given the excellent opportunity to compete in Formula 1 with Toro Rosso in the 2015 season. He teamed up with the ruthless Max Verstappen and chose the number 55 as his racing jersey.

Carlos stayed with Toro Rosso for a third season in 2017, continuing to rack up strong points. In 2018, he battled all season with teammate Nico Hulkenberg and finished in points 13 times. His skills were advanced by working with a manufacturing team. They released the news that Carlos would replace his close friend and fellow countryman Alonso at McLaren by 2019. Carlos signed off his final race with the team by securing P3 in the Constructors’ Championship after two productive years with McLaren, which included two podium finishes.

Later, the 28-year-old was brought into the Maranello-based organization. And after a difficult year in 2021, competing alongside Charles Leclerc, Carlos Sainz demonstrated his true ability by securing P5 in the driver’s standing. The Spaniard might have done better if Ferrari had provided him with a much more reliable vehicle.

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Throughout his young life, Carlos Sainz has made an extraordinary amount of effort to achieve his goals, juggling the demands of international racing with the rigor and dedication of his academic education which he never gave up, and led the passage of time proved that he was right. The fact that the Spaniard is still thought to be ‘underrated,’ though, is the one thing that does not do him justice.

However, now that he is competing for one of the best teams, it would be interesting to see whether he can win the world championship title one day or not.