Carlos Sainz Agrees to Multi-Year Deal with Williams

Posted on July 29, 2024 by Tom Castaneda

Carlos Sainz is racing towards a new team…

The 29-year-old Spanish racing driver, who currently competes in Formula One, will leave Ferrari and join Williams in 2025, the team confirmed on Monday, ending months of speculation about his future.

Sainz has signed on a multi-year deal with Williams, meaning he’ll drive alongside Alex Albon in 2025.

Announcing the deal, Williams said he’ll race at the team “for ’25, ’26 and beyond”, with the deal including two guaranteed years and another option season after that.

American driver Logan Sargeant will make way for Sainz at the end of the current season and it’s unlikely he’ll continue in F1 beyond that point.

Sainz’s next step has been unclear since Ferrari announced the signing of Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton for next season.

“I am very happy to announce that I will be joining Williams Racing from 2025 onwards,” he said. “It is no secret that this year’s driver market has been exceptionally complex for various reasons and that it has taken me some time to announce my decision.

“However, I am fully confident that Williams is the right place for me to continue my F1 journey and I am extremely proud of joining such a historic and successful team, where many of my childhood heroes drove in the past and made their mark on our sport.

“The ultimate goal of bringing Williams back to where it belongs, at the front of the grid, is a challenge that I embrace with excitement and positivity. I am convinced that this team has all the right ingredients to make history again and starting on Jan. 1 I will give my absolute best to drive Williams forward alongside every single member of the team.”

Sainz has won three F1 races, including this year’s Australian Grand Prix.

Williams boss James Vowles said the signing gives his team one of the strongest line-ups on the grid.

“Carlos joining Williams is a strong statement of intent from both parties,” he said. “Carlos has demonstrated time and again that he is one of the most talented drivers on the grid, with race-winning pedigree, and this underlines the upwards trajectory we are on. Carlos brings not just experience and performance, but also a fierce drive to extract every millisecond out of the team and car; the fit is perfect.

“In Alex and Carlos we will have one of the most formidable driver line-ups on the grid and with huge experience to guide us into the new regulations in 2026.

“Their belief in this organization’s mission demonstrates the magnitude of the work going on behind the scenes. People should be in no doubt about our ambition and momentum as we continue our journey back to competitiveness — we are here, we are serious and with Dorilton’s backing we are investing in what it takes to return to the front of the grid.

“I also want to thank Logan for everything he has done for the team and know he will continue to fight hard for us in the races ahead.”

Sergio Perez Expected to Extend Contract with Red Bull

Posted on May 28, 2024 by Tom Castaneda

Sergio Pérez is staying in the red…

The 34-year-old Mexican motorsports racing driver remains the front-runner to stay with Red Bull in 2025, per ESPN sources.

Pérez, whose contract expires at the end of 2024, endured a tough weekend at the Monaco Grand Prix, qualifying 18th before being involved in a collision on the first lap.

Red Bull has been in no rush to make a decision about his future, with Carlos Sainz still yet to decide what he does next year when Lewis Hamilton replaces him at Ferrari.

Sainz is reportedly monitoring the situation at Red Bull before committing to either Williams or Sauber (which will become Audi in 2026), with the long-term future of Max Verstappen also uncertain beyond 2025.

Verstappen, who has doubts about Red Bull’s 2026 engine project, has been linked with a move to Mercedes for that season, which is the start of a new set of regulations.

However, it looks unlikely Red Bull opt for Sainz at this stage. Multiple sources have told ESPN that Red Bull still favor Pérez and that only a drastic drop in form over the next few races could change that situation, which lines up with team boss Christian Horner‘s comments to the media after the Monaco Grand Prix.

“This weekend’s been pretty brutal for him,” Horner said on Sunday. “Obviously we need to make sure that we have got both cars up there scoring points, because we cannot dismiss the threat of Ferrari and McLaren in both championships.

“Checo’s first six races, he was very strong, qualifying on the front row and finishing second and third and scoring very well. We just need to get back into that position of confidence and not to see a dip.”

Asked if Pérez’s last few results have delayed a decision, Horner said: “Not really. I think that it’s more our timing. We’ll make a decision in the fullness of time.”

Until Red Bull decides what to do with Pérez, it is likely Williams and Audi will be waiting on Sainz.

Audi is overseeing negotiations at Sauber, having brought forward its investment in the team earlier this year.

Audi has already signed Nico Hülkenberg to its project and is understood to be considering back-up options in case Sainz goes elsewhere, although the company’s might find it difficult to find another marquee signing with race-winning pedigree.

Williams have been in talks with Sainz ever since Ferrari decided to replace him with Lewis Hamilton next year and over the Monaco Grand Prix it emerged they are increasingly confident of securing his services from 2025 onwards.

Carlos Sainz Teams Up with Justin Thomas to Claim First-Ever Netflix Cup Trophy

Posted on November 15, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Carlos Sainz is celebrating his Netflix and thrill moment…

The 29-year-old Spanish racing driver, who currently competes in Formula One for Scuderia Ferrari, and pro golfer Justin Thomas teamed up to win the first-ever Netflix Cup, a crossover event featuring PGA TOUR players and F1 drivers competing in an eight-hole scramble.

The first-of-a-kind event was held Tuesday at Wynn Golf Club in Las Vegas.

The duo hoisted the Cup together in the post-match ceremony, with Thomas then drinking from the Cup. Then Sainz had his turn, and he dropped the trophy, which broke.

Thomas and Sainz defeated the tandem of Tony Finau and Pierre Gasly in the closest-to-pin contest on the final hole after the four-team field was cut in half following eight holes of match play.

The competition qualified as silly at times, but the spectators lining the course to watch seemed to find it entertaining.

A number of celebrities were on hand for the event, which also included controversial topics.

Protesters, apparently representing PETA, came onto the course to demand that F1, with parent company Liberty Media, cut ties with the Iditarod dogsled race in Alaska.

While golf was the designated sport, it was far from any typical round.

There were plenty of antics with the golf itself. For instance, on the first tee, four golfers teed off at the same time and then raced to their golf carts, following the designated “race course” onto the fairway to get to their balls. Golfers raced to get to the green and to see who could arrive fastest, locate their golf balls and then putt amid the mayhem on the greens.

As part of the race to get to the greens, golfer Rickie Fowler was driving the cart with F1 driver Lando Norris as the passenger.

The other team was Max Homa–Alex Albon. Finau was credited with the competition’s first birdie.

This competition was a prelude to the weekend’s Formula 1 Heineken Silver Las Vegas Grand Prix.

This was Netflix’s first live airing of a sports event.

Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz Ends Max Verstappen’s Winning Streak with Singapore Grand Prix Victory

Posted on September 17, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Carlos Sainz has put an end to Max Verstappen‘s record-breaking run of victories…

The 29-year-old Spanish racing driver, currently competing in Formula One for Scuderia Ferrari, won a tense Singapore Grand Prix to end Verstappen’s record-breaking run and Red Bull‘s hopes of an unbeaten season.

Sainz drove a tactical masterclass in the final laps, keeping Lando Norris‘ McLaren close enough that he had use of the Drag Reduction System (DRS) overtaking aid to keep charging Mercedes drivers George Russell and Lewis Hamilton at bay.

In a dramatic finish, on the final lap Russell crashed out while chasing Norris to hand the final podium spot to Hamilton.

Sainz’s win was his second in F1 and Ferrari‘s first since his teammate Charles Leclerc won the Austrian Grand Prix on July 10 last year.

In the time since, Red Bull had lost only one race, when George Russell won the Brazilian Grand Prix in November.

Sainz’s victory ended Verstappen’s record run of 10 wins in a row as the huge pace advantage Red Bull had all year disappeared under the lights of Marina Bay.

Verstappen had to settle for fifth position, his first race off the podium this year.

What had been a quiet contest exploded into life in the final 10 laps.

Russell and Hamilton had been brought into contention when Mercedes used a Virtual Safety Car on Lap 45 of 62 to bring both drivers in for fresh tyres when the others did not.

The pace advantage saw them quickly catch the lead three cars, but after both got by Leclerc with relative ease, Russell was unable to get past Norris, who was always within one second of Sainz.

When told how close Norris was behind at one stage, Sainz told Ferrari: “Yeah, it’s on purpose.”

F1’s rules allowed him use of the DRS overtaking aid, and the speed boost it gave Norris on the straights was enough to keep the McLaren driver ahead, which he did with some good defending driving four laps from the end.

Having failed to get by Norris on a couple of occasions, Russell then clipped the inside wall and went straight on into the barrier on the final lap.

That promoted Hamilton to third and Leclerc to fourth in the other Ferrari.

Verstappen finished fifth, extending his huge championship lead over Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez, who finished eighth.

Verstappen is now 151 points clear; a win Sunday would have given him the chance to wrap up the title in Japan next week. Instead, the earliest he can do it is October 8 at the Qatar Grand Prix. Red Bull has utterly dominated the season and will hope the race at Suzuka is business as usual.

Alpine’s Pierre Gasly was sixth, ahead of McLaren’s Oscar Piastri.

Liam Lawson continued his impressive start to life in F1, scoring the first points in his career in ninth.

Lawson is expected to drive again at the Japanese Grand Prix, with Daniel Ricciardo still not ready to return to racing after breaking a hand in a crash ahead of the Dutch Grand Prix.

Kevin Magnussen managed to snatch a point for Haas to reward the team for a strong weekend that had seen both cars start inside the top 10.

Carlos Sainz to Compete in All-Star Match Preceding Upcoming Ryder Cup

Posted on September 6, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Carlos Sainz is swinging into a new sport…

The 29-year-old Spanish racing driver, currently competing in Formula One for Scuderia Ferrari, will step out of his race car and onto the golf course.

Sainz will compete in an All-Star match preceding the upcoming Ryder Cup outside Rome.

Sainz, Novak Djokovic and soccer players Gareth Bale and Andriy Shevchenko are among those named to compete in the September 27 event by Ryder Cup Europe.

“I can’t wait to tee it up in Rome and experience the incredible atmosphere of a Ryder Cup, which has become legendary,” said Djokovic, a 23-time Grand Slam champion who is currently competing at the US Open.

Actress Kathryn Newton and Super Bowl champion Victor Cruz were also included on the teams that will be led by former Ryder Cup captains Colin Montgomerie and Corey Pavin.

The Ryder Cup will be held from September 29-October 1 at the Marco Simone course.

At the 2022 British Grand Prix, Sainz took his maiden Formula One pole position and career win. He has ended up on the podium 16 times.

Carlos Sainz Claims First Career Formula One Victory at British Grand Prix

Posted on July 3, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Carlos Sainz has found the winning formula…

The 27-year-old Spanish racing driver has claimed his first Formula One victory ahead of Sergio Perez and Lewis Hamilton at a rollercoaster and action-packed British Grand Prix.

The race, one of the best of the season so far, included a dramatic crash at the start which saw Zhou Guanyu‘s car flipped over tire barrier, protesters forcing their way onto the track on the opening lap and championship leader Max Verstappen dropping down the order with a damaged car.

Sainz’s chances of a first win appeared to have completely disappeared at two different points in the race, first after a big mistake at Becketts and then after he obeyed a team order to let teammate Charles Leclerc through on Lap 32 of 52.

A late Safety Car and race restart 10 laps later provided a perfect opportunity for Sainz to reclaim the lead and scamper away with the win as an unbelievable finish unfolded in the battle for second behind him between Perez, Hamilton and Leclerc.

“Yes! We did it! Yes! Vamos!” Sainz shouted over the radio after crossing the line, securing his first win in 151 F1 attempts.

Home favorite Hamilton had looked in a perfect position to challenge the Ferraris of Leclerc and Sainz for his first victory of the season until that Safety Car deployment and immediately lost position to Perez at the restart.

An epic battle for second and third then unfolded between Perez, Hamilton and Leclerc, featuring multiple position changes and some aggressive driving from all three drivers.

On lap 48, Perez forced Leclerc wide at the final corner, allowing Hamilton up into second. Several corners later, Perez forced Hamilton wide to reclaim the position and the Mercedes driver fell behind Leclerc.

Leclerc turned in some incredible defensive driving to keep Hamilton at bay for as long as he could in the closing stages but in the end could not do anything about the major tyre disadvantage he had been left with at the Safety Car restart.

For Hamilton it was his second visit to the podium in two races and a clear sign of the progress Mercedes has made in recent races.

Leclerc had to settle for fourth position, having lost a rare opportunity to make a bigger dent in Verstappen’s championship lead.

Verstappen finished seventh after holding off Haas’ Mick Schumacher in the run to the finish line.

Verstappen still holds a healthy lead in the championship, 34 points ahead of teammate Perez and 43 ahead of Leclerc.

Sainz’s win moved him ahead of George Russell, who did not finish, and into fourth position in the title fight.

The events of the first 10 seconds of the race set the tone for the dramatic afternoon which followed.

Alfa Romeo rookie Zhou Gaunyu was vaulted into a terrifying barrel roll at Turn 1 which left his car upside down in the tire barrier and prompted a red flag race suspension.

Zhou had been tagged by the Mercedes of George Russell, who in turn had been hit by Pierre Gasly‘s AlphaTauri.

Russell’s race ended in the gravel trap at Turn 1, while Alex Albon was also spun into the wall at Turn 1.

Gasly was later spun around by teammate Yuki Tsunoda.

All those incidents opened up a perfect opportunity for Haas to bounce back from a deflating Saturday which had seen both drivers eliminated in Q1, as Schumacher finally claimed the first F1 points of his career.

An emotional Schumacher apologized to Haas after finishing after swearing over the radio as he celebrated the finish.

Teammate Kevin Magnussen claimed the final points paying position of the afternoon in 10th.

Roma and Coma Maintain Their Dakar Rally Lead

Posted on January 13, 2014 by Tom Castaneda

It’s full lead ahead for Nani Roma and Marc Coma…

The Spanish rally racer driver and Spanish rally race motorcycle rider kept their comfortable overall leads in the Dakar Rally after a fast eighth stage on Monday.

Both took different high-altitude routes down into Chile.

Roma and the cars undertook a 300-kilometer special from Salta, Argentina, over the Andes.

Roma endured two punctures on the stony track and finished sixth, losing eight minutes off his lead over defending champion Stephane Peterhansel of France.

Peterhansel was down to 24 minutes off the pace. Giniel de Villiers of South Africa remained 48 minutes behind in third, and Orlando Terranova of Argentina stayed fourth, 51 minutes back. They were the only ones within an hour of Roma.

Peterhansel was second in the stage, about a minute behind winner Nasser Al-Attiyah of Qatar, who led in his Mini most of the way for his 18th Dakar stage victory. Carlos Sainz of Spain was third.

Coma and the motorbikes left from Uyuni, Bolivia, on a 460-kilometer trek around the Salar de Uyuni, the world’s biggest salt flats.

Coma, with a big overall lead, was happy to stay on the tail of his great rival, Cyril Despres of France, the titleholder who won his first stage of the year.

Despres beat Joan Barreda Bort of Spain and Coma by more than two minutes, but Despres was still more than two hours behind Coma overall.

Barreda remained second and 38 minutes behind Coma overall, and the only rider within an hour of the leader.

But the rally returns to the treacherous sand dunes on Tuesday, racing through the Atacama Desert from Calama to Iquique.

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