Carlos Sainz will never be able to forget the 2022 British Grand Prix , where he achieved a first Formula 1 victory that he had sought for a long time.
Sainz, a Ferrari driver, made a final pit stop to fit a set of new tyres, when the safety car appeared to remove the Alpine of Frenchman Esteban Ocon, who was left lying on the track in the final part of the test.
That strategy was also followed by Red Bull with Sergio Pérez and Mercedes with Lewis Hamilton’s car, while Charles Leclerc , the race leader at the time, stayed out on his already worn tyres.
When the race resumed, the inevitable happened and Carlos Sainz overtook his teammate to take the lead. The Monegasque then waged a battle that thrilled the public in the last 10 laps with Pérez and Hamilton, exchanging their positions on several occasions.
In the end, Sainz crossed the checkered flag first, followed by Pérez and Hamilton.
During the arrival ceremony of the cars to the Parc Fermé, Sainz was congratulated by the Red Bull driver. Together with Fernando Alonso, from Alpine , both are the only Spanish-speaking competitors on the Formula 1 grid.
During an event for the launch of the Tenerife circuit project, Sainz recalled in the presentation interview, conducted by the narrator of DAZN F1 in Spain, the way in which Checo Pérez congratulated him, but he also did it trying to imitate the Mexican accent .
“You deserve it, you bastard,” Sainz is heard saying as he remembers the first words said by Pérez: “Fucking dude. How nice to share the podium with you…in your first victory.”
Sainz indicated that his first victory was something that will always be in his memory: “It is one of the most beautiful things that you can feel as an athlete. At that moment, at 300 per hour, you don’t realize it, but when you see the photo and you get off of the car and the whole paddock where you work comes to congratulate you, rival drivers and they are happy for you…”.
