Sainz driven by 'hunter, prey' words of advice

Ian Parkes
Monday 19 September 2022 13:34

Carlos Sainz has revealed to still being driven by the words of his father when he was a child that he has carried with him to this day.

Ferrari driver Sainz claims that as a youngster during his formative karting days his quiet character resulted in him losing out in races, leading to Carlos Sainz Sr taking him to one side and telling him a few home truths.

“I used to be very shy, and I used to be friends with a lot of people, all the racing drivers,” Sainz told The New York Times.

“When I would then arrive at a go-kart track, I would get pushed around, bumped out of a race by people I thought would never do that to me because we got on well out of the car.

“My dad told me, ‘Look, it’s not only in life but also in any sport that you do, you either bite or you get bitten.

"You need to be the one pushing, to be the hard one because if you’re not, you’re going to be the prey. That advice changed my approach and my career.

“Once I put the helmet on, I try to be the animal hunting, not the hunted animal."

The 28-year-old Spanish driver has confirmed he barely saw his father early on due to his exploits in the world of rallying in which he became a two-time champion.

Sainz, though, is adamant there is something in his genes that led to him becoming a racing star in his own right.

“My dad was a two-time champion in the golden era of rally, when everyone was following rally like crazy,” Sainz said. “In Europe, it was huge.

“But it meant I didn’t see him a lot because he was very busy. There were years when he was away from home for between 250 to 300 days a year, and I grew up without seeing him much.

"When I decided to go into racing myself, I understood that it came with some extra pressure, some extra attention because now everyone wanted to see how the son of Carlos Sainz was doing.

"In the beginning, it was difficult because as an 11-year-old kid, you don't understand why you deserve to have more attention than the others You get used to it, I guess.

"As for the racing, my bet is there must be something genetic in it. There is a video of me when I was two-and-a-half years old in a battery car, and I was doing 360s and Scandinavian flicks where you do a perfect sideways corner.

“No way my father taught me that, but when I look back on those videos I feel there was something inside my body that knew how to drive, even at two-and-a-half years old.

"I was born to drive, you can see it in the video.”