Carlos Sainz describes his first visit to Maranello as “a secret expedition”. Carlos on his first visit to Maranello.

You never forget the first time you visit Ferrari in Maranello. That was also the case for Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz, who admit it was a very special experience. The Monegasque found himself in front of the Ferrari headquarters at the age of 12 and was accompanied by a family friend employed inside the structure, but he did not enter. “So I sat in the parking lot for two hours and in the meantime I tried to imagine what the inside of the venue was like. In my mind I imagined admiring a structure similar to the one seen in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory with the Umpa Lumpa running around”, the memory of Charles Leclerc confessed in a recent interview for GQ magazine.

The first visit of Carlos Sainz to Maranello was clearly more mature and concrete, even if his was also shrouded in a veil of mystery. The Spanish driver, in fact, was still under contract with McLaren, a team for which he raced in 2019 and 2020, before convincing Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto to sign him for the 2021 Formula 1 season. Carlos Sainz, who grew up in the Red Bull youth program, therefore joined Charles Leclerc in Ferraro to replace Sebastian Vettel.

“It was a secret expedition – the Carlos Sainz recalls – because I had to wait for my contract with another team to expire. In the end I entered I came [through] the back” – he admitted. Now obviously the Madrid-born driver can cross the thresholds of the Ferrari Racing Department through the main door, also because he has already secured the renewal of the contract until 2024.

But when days are tough, when things are down which no doubt they must have been in recent months for both Ferrari drivers, Carlos Sainz has a mantra he pulls out for such occasions: “If on a given day I feel tired, or sad, or maybe something’s not quite right with me, if I’m in a bad mood and I don’t know why… I say: Shit, I’m a Ferrari driver. I’m in Maranello. I’m going to drive a simulator today. I’m going to test the car. And soon I’m gonna race,” which does the trick for the Spaniard.

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This status – and the parallel growth of Formula 1 in terms of popularity also thanks to the TV series ‘Drive to survive’ created by the Netflix giant – obviously brings honors, but also money, visibility and popularity that must not go to one’s head and distract a driver from keeping the accelerator pedal firmly pressed every time they get on the track: “The number of people who recognize you on the street has increased, there are more sponsors, events, photo shoots, more autographs, more risks of distraction” – said Carlos, whose life has been spent in and around motorsport, for the past decade around or in Formula 1.