Carlos Sainz faces "impossible" challenge of stepping out from father's shadow

Carlos Sainz Sr with Sainz Jr in 2017 — Photo: © LAT Images

Ferrari

Sainz faces "impossible" challenge of stepping out from father's shadow

Sainz Sr won two WRC titles and has added multiple Dakar Rally victories since

Ewan Gale

Sunday 28 February 2021 09:00

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Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz believes it will be "impossible" to step from within his father's shadow.

Carlos Sainz Sr has won two World Rally Championships and multiple Dakar Rallies during his illustrious career, with Sainz Jr aiming to add his first title with the Scuderia.

When asked if the move to Maranello had started to remove him from his father's shadow, Sainz said: "No, not yet and I will never be out of his shadow.

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"He has had a very different career and first of all, he has been a double world champion which is something that I haven't yet achieved, even though it is my intention, it is still far [away].

"I think, personally, he was a pioneer, a very special driver at his time. He created a lot of changes to the World Rally Championship and made a mark after his time in the WRC, at least, talking to mechanics and engineers that have worked with him.

"It is going to be very difficult for me to overshadow him and even though I am part of Ferrari now and achieved one of my biggest dreams, if not the biggest one, that is to be a Ferrari driver, he has those two championships and that career, he is still winning Dakars and it will be difficult for me to match or overshadow. For me, it is impossible."

Sainz will make his Ferrari debut at the Bahrain Grand Prix on March 28 as the team hopes to put last year's troubled behind it and re-emerge as challengers to Mercedes and Red Bull.

The Spaniard has explained how his initial nerves have dissipated following his first test at Fiorano over the winter.

"Well, the good thing is I managed to do everything on my first day at Fiorano, which was to put on the red suit for the first time, the Ferrari overalls," Sainz added.

"Then I got my first drive in a Ferrari F1 car, a pretty good one - the 2018 car. On top of that, I got my first test on such a mythical track as Fiorano.

"So you can imagine how special that day was for me. A day that I will never forget and definitely a day that I enjoyed a lot, even though I was a bit nervous in the morning, it very quickly went away and I could just enjoy the whole day and enjoy what was happening then."