– Carlos Sainz would like to continue racing after his active Formula 1 career and rules out a role as team principal for himself personally: “I don’t know if team principal would be the task that I would enjoy,” he admits in the podcast Beyond The Grid.
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But there is still a lot of time until then, because at 31 years old, Sainz is not planning to leave Formula 1 anytime soon. According to his own statement, the Spaniard is aiming for the end of his career “at around 40” and would therefore still have about ten years in the sport.
What he will do after that is still completely open – but it should be an active driver role. He cannot imagine retiring completely like Nico Rosberg: “No, I’m a racer. I’m a racer and I’m ambitious,” he clarifies. “I like to win, no matter what I do. I would start in a series where I believe I can win.”
Papa Sainz as a role model
“I don’t know if it will be Le Mans, the Dakar or… I don’t know,” says the Williams driver. “Until then, there might be other attractive championships, but I think I will continue to race, something that keeps me active.”
His father Carlos Sainz Sr. serves as a role model, who at 63 is still active in racing and won the Dakar Rally just two years ago.
“I haven’t seen a 63-year-old who is hungrier or fitter, with so much dedication to his sport, which makes him get up every morning at 6 a.m. because he still has a goal he is working towards,” he says with pride. “For me as his son, it was a great role model to grow up with. Because I see someone who is still fully involved at 50, 60.”
Other Formula 1 drivers, on the other hand, have taken the path to the other side of the pit wall after their careers. But he doesn’t see himself becoming a team principal or founding his own team at some point: “My own team? No, I think that’s total chaos,” he laughs.
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Advisor yes, team principal no
Even the thought experiment of succeeding James Vowles as Williams team principal does not appeal to him – if only because he would then have to move to England with a potential family. “And then a nine-to-five job, which I’ve never had in my life …,” he muses.
“I’m a racing driver. I’ve never had to go to an office or anything like that. I don’t know if I would feel like it or be ready for it,” Sainz admits.
“Have I thought about it? Yes. But I don’t know. Do I think I would be a good team principal? I don’t know.”
He could imagine being able to exert a good influence in another area of a Formula 1 team – for example as an advisor. “With what I know – how to manage drivers and how to lead a team of engineers – I do think I could find a role there,” he says.
“I just don’t know if team principal would be the task that I would enjoy or that would get the best out of me,” says the Spaniard. “For that, I remain open to potential solutions. But that will come later. For now, I enjoy being a racing driver and I want to remain one until then.”
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