Carlos Sainz’s next car couldn’t be further from F1

Carlos Sainz

Carlos Sainz’s next car couldn’t be further from F1

Carlos Sainz's new car will shock you

Originally written by Sheona Mountford. This version is a translation.

Saturday 27 December 2025 21:00

What kind of car does Formula 1 race winner Carlos Sainz choose to drive away from the circuit? Despite owning an enviable collection, one addition set to join his garage stands out as particularly unexpected.

The 31-year-old made the move to Williams this season and, after early adaptation challenges, finished the year on a high. Sainz secured two podium results, marking Williams’ first top-three finishes since 2015.

During a recent interview for Adam Hay-Nicholls’s My Life in Cars, Sainz shifted the focus away from Formula 1 to reflect on the vehicles he has owned and outline some unexpected automotive plans for the years ahead.

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"My first road car was a Golf GTi that my parents gifted me for my 18th birthday. I still have it. It remains my car when I’m in Madrid," Sainz explained.

Yet, Sainz's next car with girlfriend Donaldson is a little different, and will zip around the streets of Monte Carlo - a Fiat Topolino electric microcar.

The new Topolino is the sustainable 21st century cousin of the classic Fiat 500, aimed at promoting electric mobility in cities, and it is certainly easy to picturing it cruising around the streets of Monaco.

Inside Carlos Sainz's car collection

“The 720S is one of the most impressive cars I’ve ever driven. It was an incredible company car!" he continued.

"I got to drive it whenever I was in the UK, which was a lot. Unfortunately I don’t have a company car these days, with Williams. That’s probably something I should have put in my contract.”

When it comes to Ferrari, the four-time grand prix winners owns several including a Ferrari Purosangue, which he described as his daily driver around Monaco.

“My girlfriend [Rebecca Donaldson] drives both when I’m not around. I tell her to be a bit more careful with the Purosangue. It’s important that I always have a car that can fit a bag of golf clubs as I’m mad about the game," Sainz explained.

"My idea of the perfect Saturday or Sunday is morning coffee, jump in the car with my golf bag and drive to the course. In Monaco, it’s a really cool drive, the golf club is 900 metres at the top of the mountain."

“The first time I bought a car with my own money was in 2022. The 812 Competizione came out, and my first Ferrari pay check had been cashed, so I said, right, I’m going to buy a Ferrari. It was the most beautiful car I’d ever seen.” Sainz has also purchased a Daytona SP3, which is now valued at over £4million, and the SF90 XX Spider, now worth £1.5million.

“They’re all Tailor Made [Ferrari’s customisation department] in my colours, and they all have variations of the same details," he added.

"It’s like a dark iron colour, and they all have very thin red lines that go very well against the grey. On each car there’s a little red chilli hidden somewhere. ‘Little Chilli’ – that’s what my friends called me growing up. I also have my race number, 55, somewhere on the bodywork. And Smooth Operator written on the door sills, of course.”

Finally, Sainz named his dream car that could one come under his ownership - a Ferrari F80, and honestly who can blame him?

F1 Carlos Sainz Williams