Carlos Sainz is a hometown hero to all Madrid youngsters. The second Spaniard ever to win an F1 race, he is now a Ferrari heartthrob. In 2013, he was still a dreamy-eyes 18-year-old who managed to win the Formula Renault 3.5 Championship, but today, he is a globally renowned driver for a top F1 team. His story surely has a sway over all those kids who want to shine in motorsports just like him. Going back in time, when did you start watching Sainz at the races?

Was it last year’s Singapore GP? His performance at the Marina Bay Street Circuit catapulted his fame and earned him new fans. Interacting with these new followers has been something the #55 driver apparently takes very seriously. In his latest interview, he discussed how he feels about the youngsters who look up to him and how he draws examples from stalwarts like Alonso and Schumacher to put up an image for his fans.

Carlos Sainz is a Ferrari racer, making him an idol for the hundreds of thousands of Tifosi who worship the team. But has that made the Spanish talent crack under the pressure? Even now, after getting some flak for Ferrari losing its #2 spot in the World Championship to McLaren, Carlos Sainz has taken the fans’ comments sportingly.

So, how does the Spanish Chilli keep up his composure in the chaotic F1 world? Sharing his thoughts, Carlos Sainz told GQ, “I think that at my level, the image I have is important. Especially, among young people, who are the ones I want to inspire.” He continued, “[I want] young people [to] look at me as I looked at Fernando Alonso, Michael Schumacher, and Rafa Nadal when I was little, as athletes and as people I wanted to be like when I grew up.” Moreover, Carlos also picked up the topic of how he wants fans to view him when they go through his social media.

Carlos Sainz sometimes goes off of social media due to “toxicity”

Sainz has never resorted to performing antics on social media to gather his fan following. In fact, he has admitted to sometimes disconnecting from it to save his time. He explained, “I try to disconnect from it [social media], because I think it has its toxicity, and it’s not worth spending a lot of time looking at it.” Thus, the Spaniard seems to stick to the statement he released in 2021. At that time, he joined the UEFA, the English Premier League, and some other organizations in their protest against the spread of hatred and negativity on social media.

But staying away from social media forever is not an option for the Madrid heartthrob, right? Knowing this fact, Sainz has mentioned that he wants to monitor whatever he posts there so that his messages never spoil his image. He said, “I try to be as disciplined as possible with it and use it only as a weapon for my benefit, instead of a weapon that can harm me by spending too much time on it.”

Soon, Carlos Sainz will bid farewell to Ferrari and start a new journey at another team. No, we still don’t have any confirmation from him on which outfit he will shift to next. But some rumors have cropped up claiming that it is Alpine. How do you think Carlos will shoulder the responsibilities of his new F1 team in 2025? Comment below to share your thoughts.