F1 | Carlos Sainz' highlights from his Instagram Q&A
The Spaniard shared with his fans his thoughts and feelings about his first day at Maranello as well as the best part about being an F1 driver - so read on.
Carlos Sainz has become the most recent person to join the ranks of Scuderia Ferrari drivers following his move from McLaren for the 2021 season onwards. Sainz held an Instagram Question and Answer session on Thursday and as always this access provided some interesting revelations. The Spaniard shared with his fans his thoughts and feelings about his first day at Maranello; the best part about being an F1 driver and…his handicap in golf. So, read on to learn about what you may have missed as there are certainly a few surprises.
Social Media has allowed access to a person’s life like never before. While there are understandable concerns about the addictive elements involved, as perfectly summed up in Netflix’ documentary ‘The Social Dilemma’, there is no arguing that platforms such as Instagram allow celebrities to reach their fans like never before. One such approach frequently utilised is a ‘Quick Q&A’ and on Thursday, Carlos Sainz took his latest turn answering questions from his fans.
Due to the answers being featured in his ‘Instagram story’ they are now expired from the site – so take a look at some of the highlights you might have missed.
Inevitably, the majority of the questions were focused on how the Spaniard is settling in at Scuderia Ferrari and how his first day at Maranello was:
“I’ve already been here for 3-4 days this year. There is a lot of work to do in the simulator in order for me to be fully ready for testing. I’m meeting a lot of new faces, new people and I’m having to learn a lot of new names which I am terrible at.”
Carlos Sainz may be terrible recalling new names of people but he is far from a terrible driver having made his Formula One debut back in 2015 when he partnered Max Verstappen at Toro Rosso. Along the way, the Spaniard has plied his craft at Renault and McLaren and so having at arrived at Ferrari, his fans were keen to know what his dream Formula One car to drive would be.
Although the answer seemed like perfect PR for Scuderia Ferrari…you cannot help but believe that Sainz is genuine in his response:
“This year’s one. I’m already impatient to see how it drives and how it handles. I go to sleep every day wondering how it will feel compared to my last cars in F1. I can’t wait!”
Due to the fact that Scuderia Ferrari could only muster sixth position in the 2020 F1 Constructors’ Championship, Sainz will know doubt hope there are few comparisons to 2020’s SF1000. Nevertheless, there is no doubting that McLaren’s former racer will be at peak physical fitness to cope with whatever car is sent his way.
Carlos Sainz, like all modern F1 drivers, has a specific fitness routine and he advised his fans hoping to follow in his footsteps: “Go to the gym, full body routines with weights help to burn more calories than jumping on a treadmill for 30 mins. You get leaner, stronger and healthier.”
Carlos Sainz has replaced 4-time F1 Drivers’ Champion Sebastian Vettel at Scuderia Ferrari and the former Ferrari talisman was well known for naming his cars. Previous years have saw him take to the track in ‘Margherita’, ‘Gina’, ‘Loria’ and ‘Lina’. For 2020, the SF1000 was labelled as ‘Lucilla’. Carlos Sainz though, when asked as to whether his car has a name, instead told his fans ‘Open for ideas…’
Whenever Carlos Sainz speaks in interviews he comes across as a humble hardworking man who clearly loves being an F1 driver. Therefore, when asked as to what the best part about being an F1 driver is, it was hardly a surprise to see the man affectionately known as Chili highlight the other people in his team:
“Meeting so many people. You need to think in F1 you have the best drivers in the world, but also the best race engineers in the world, the best aero engineers in the world, the best mechanics in the world, the best tyre engineers in the world, the best strategists in the world…etc. And you get to work with all of them.”
However, as exciting as being an F1 driver must be there are always incredible highs but also some incredible lows. Therefore, how does Carlos Sainz handle a disappointing race?
“Analyze what happened. Be self-critical, put something in measure to try and make sure it doesn’t happen again. Don’t duel too much. Turn the page. Play golf.” On the subject of golf, Sainz revealed that his handicap is “9 when I’m in good shape #divotgoals”
For many people, the highlight of the past two seasons was the bromance between Lando Norris and Carlos Sainz. As McLaren teammates, their adventures, pranks and words of wisdom for one another were enjoyed by race fans throughout the world and not just those supporting McLaren. Unsurprisingly, Carlos Sainz was asked if he missed his former teammate:
“Not yet. We needed a break from each other. Doesn’t mean I will, or I will not. We will see”
Something else which fans may soon be seeing is Carlos Sainz’ first ever Scuderia Ferrari helmet design with the Spaniard teasingly telling his followers “You will see it sooner than you think! It’s already finalized.”
Even though, the Formula One season may be yet to start with pre-season testing in Bahrain not set to commence until March 12th, there is still much entertainment to be found. Whether it be Daniel Ricciardo showcasing the Rhude clothing deal partnership with McLaren by visiting the LA headquarters or Lewis Hamilton trekking up snowy mountains as part of his altitude training – there is something for everyone.
We just need to remember to look outside once in a while and have some breaks from our phone or tablet device because when the F1 season officially starts - there will be plenty of time to be glued to our screens.
