Carlos Sainz is a Spanish racing driver who competes in Formula One for Williams. He made his debut in 2015 with Toro Rosso.
| Nationality | Spanish |
|---|---|
| Born | Carlos Sainz Vázquez de Castro 1 September 1994 Madrid, Spain |
| Height | 5 ft 10 in / 1.78m |
| Weight | 66kg |
Born in Madrid, Sainz is the son of rally driver Carlos Sainz Sr., a two-time World Rally Champion. Sainz began in karting and progressed to junior formulae in 2010. He secured his first championship in the 2011 Formula Renault 2.0 Northern European Cup. In 2021 Sainz raced in British Formula 3, the Formula 3 Euro Series, and FIA European Formula 3, all with Carlin Motorsport. He then competed in the GP3 Series with Arden International in 2013 before clinching the 2014 championship in the Formula Renault 3.5 Series with DAMS.
Sainz eventually made his F1 debut with Scuderia Toro Rosso in 2015, partnering alongside Max Verstappen. As part of Red Bull’s junior program, Sainz remained with the team until the 2017 US Grand Prix, after which he moved to Renault as a mid-season replacement.
After replacing Jolyon Palmer at Renault during the latter part of the 2017 season, Sainz signed a full-time contract to race for the team in 2018. His switch to Renault was his first major move away from the Red Bull umbrella, driven by his need to establish himself as a number one driver in a team. Sainz’s performances at Renault were solid, contributing to the team’s upward trajectory in the Constructors’ Championship. However, with Red Bull prioritising younger talent, Sainz parted ways with the team at the end of 2018.
Sainz moved to McLaren in 2019, a turning point in his career as he stepped out of Red Bull’s shadow. His time at McLaren saw Sainz secure his first Formula One podium at the 2019 Brazilian Grand Prix. He followed up with another podium at the 2020 Italian Grand Prix, highlighting his growing talent, which had caught the eye of the Ferrari team.
In 2021, Sainz made his highly anticipated move to Ferrari, replacing Sebastian Vettel and partnering with Charles Leclerc. Despite Ferrari’s struggles that year, Sainz impressed in 2022, securing his first-ever pole position and race victory at the 2022 British Grand Prix. His success continued in 2023 with a victory in Singapore and a strong showing in the 2024 season, including a win in Australia. However, at the end of the 2024 season, Sainz left Ferrari for a new challenge with Williams.
Williams: 2025–present
After being replaced by Lewis Hamilton at Ferrari, Sainz joined Williams for the 2025 season on a two-year contract, partnering Alexander Albon. His campaign began in difficult circumstances when he crashed on the opening lap of the rain-affected 2025 Australian Grand Prix under safety car conditions.
At the Chinese Grand Prix, Sainz finished seventeenth in the sprint race and tenth in the main event, benefiting from post-race disqualifications for Charles Leclerc, Lewis Hamilton, and Pierre Gasly. He failed to score points at the Japanese Grand Prix after receiving a grid penalty for impeding Hamilton during qualifying, along with a €20,000 fine for missing the national anthem due to illness.
Sainz started eighth in Bahrain, where he was involved in close battles with Yuki Tsunoda and Kimi Antonelli. Contact with Tsunoda caused race-ending sidepod damage, while he was later penalised for forcing Antonelli off track. At the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, Sainz qualified sixth and finished eighth.
His standout performance of the season came at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, where he qualified second and secured his first podium for Williams with a third-place finish. This result made him only the second driver, after Alain Prost, to score podiums with Ferrari, McLaren, and Williams. Sainz later added a second podium for the team at the 2025 Qatar Grand Prix.
Carlos Sainz Formula One World Championship career
| F1 Career | 2015–Ongoing |
|---|---|
| Teams | Toro Rosso, Renault, McLaren, Ferrari, Williams |
| Driver Number | 55 |
| Entries | Ongoing |
| Championships | 0 |
| Wins | 4 |
| Podiums | 29 |
| Career points | Ongoing |
| Pole positions | 6 |
| Fastest laps | 4 |
| First entry | 2015 Australian Grand Prix |
| First win | 2022 British Grand Prix |
| Last win | 2024 Mexico City Grand Prix |
| Last entry | Ongoing |
Carlos Sainz Race Wins
| Win Number | Grand Prix |
|---|---|
| 1 | 2022 British Grand Prix |
| 2 | 2023 Singapore Grand Prix |
| 3 | 2024 Australian Grand Prix |
| 4 | 2024 Mexico City Grand Prix |
Carlos Sainz Teammates
| 14 drivers | Involvement | First Year | Last Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Max Verstappen | 23 | 2015 | 2016 |
| Daniil Kvyat | 31 | 2016 | 2017 |
| Sean Gelael | 2 | 2017 | |
| Pierre Gasly | 2 | 2017 | |
| Nico Hulkenberg | 25 | 2017 | 2018 |
| Artem Markelov | 1 | 2018 | |
| Lando Norris | 38 | 2019 | 2020 |
| Charles Leclerc | 90 | 2021 | 2024 |
| Robert Shwartzman | 4 | 2022 | 2023 |
| Oliver Bearman | 2 | 2024 | |
| Arthur Leclerc | 1 | 2024 | |
| Alexander Albon | 24 | 2025 | |
| Luke Browing | 2 | 2025 | |
| Victor Martins | 1 | 2025 |
Carlos Sainz Complete Formula One Results
| Year | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | WDC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Scuderia Toro Rosso | Toro Rosso STR10 | Renault Energy F1‑2015 1.6 V6 t | AUS 9 | MAL 8 | CHN 13 | BHR Ret | ESP 9 | MON 10 | CAN 12 | AUT Ret | GBR Ret | HUN Ret | BEL Ret | ITA 11 | SIN 9 | JPN 10 | RUS Ret | USA 7 | MEX 13 | BRA Ret | ABU 11 | 15th | 18 | |||||
| 2016 | Scuderia Toro Rosso | Toro Rosso STR11 | Ferrari 060 1.6 V6 t | AUS 9 | BHR Ret | CHN 9 | RUS 12 | ESP 6 | MON 8 | CAN 9 | EUR Ret | AUT 8 | GBR 8 | HUN 8 | GER 14 | BEL Ret | ITA 15 | SIN 14 | MAL 11 | JPN 17 | USA 6 | MEX 16 | BRA 6 | ABU Ret | 12th | 46 | |||
| 2017 | Scuderia Toro Rosso | Toro Rosso STR12 | Toro Rosso 1.6 V6 t | AUS 8 | CHN 7 | BHR Ret | RUS 10 | ESP 7 | MON 6 | CAN Ret | AZE 8 | AUT Ret | GBR Ret | HUN 7 | BEL 10 | ITA 14 | SIN 4 | MAL Ret | JPN Ret | 9th | 54 | ||||||||
| Renault Sport F1 Team | Renault R.S.17 | Renault R.E.17 1.6 V6 t | USA 7 | MEX Ret | BRA 11 | ABU Ret | 9th | 54 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 2018 | Renault Sport F1 Team | Renault R.S.18 | Renault R.E.18 1.6 V6 t | AUS 10 | BHR 11 | CHN 9 | AZE 5 | ESP 7 | MON 10 | CAN 8 | FRA 8 | AUT 12 | GBR Ret | GER 12 | HUN 9 | BEL 11 | ITA 8 | SIN 8 | RUS 17 | JPN 10 | USA 7 | MEX Ret | BRA 12 | ABU 6 | 10th | 53 | |||
| 2019 | McLaren F1 Team | McLaren MCL34 | Renault E-Tech 19 1.6 V6 t | AUS Ret | BHR 19 † | CHN 14 | AZE 7 | ESP 8 | MON 6 | CAN 11 | FRA 6 | AUT 8 | GBR 6 | GER 5 | HUN 5 | BEL Ret | ITA Ret | SIN 12 | RUS 6 | JPN 5 | MEX 13 | USA 8 | BRA 3 | ABU 10 | 6th | 96 | |||
| 2020 | McLaren F1 Team | McLaren MCL35 | Renault E-Tech 20 1.6 V6 t | AUT 5 | STY 9 | HUN 9 | GBR 13 | 70A 13 | ESP 6 | BEL DNS | ITA 2 | TUS Ret | RUS Ret | EIF 5 | POR 6 | EMI 7 | TUR 5 | BHR 5 | SKH 4 | ABU 6 | 6th | 105 | |||||||
| 2021 | Scuderia Ferrari Mission Winnow | Ferrari SF21 | Ferrari 065/6 1.6 V6 t | BHR 8 | EMI 5 | POR 11 | ESP 7 | MON 2 | AZE 8 | FRA 11 | STY 6 | AUT 5 | GBR 6 | HUN 3 | BEL 10‡ | NED 7 | ITA 6 | RUS 3 | TUR 8 | USA 7 | MXC 6 | SAP 6 3 | QAT 7 | SAU 8 | ABU 3 | 5th | 164.5 | ||
| 2022 | Scuderia Ferrari | Ferrari F1-75 | Ferrari 066/7 1.6 V6 t | BHR 2 | SAU 3 | AUS Ret | EMI Ret 4 | MIA 3 | ESP 4 | MON 2 | AZE Ret | CAN 2 | GBR 1 | AUT Ret 3 | FRA 5 | HUN 4 | BEL 3 | NED 8 | ITA 4 | SIN 3 | JPN Ret | USA Ret | MXC 5 | SAP 3 2 | ABU 4 | 5th | 246 | ||
| 2023 | Scuderia Ferrari | Ferrari SF-23 | Ferrari 066/10 1.6 V6 t | BHR 4 | SAU 6 | AUS 12 | AZE 5 5 | MIA 5 | MON 8 | ESP 5 | CAN 5 | AUT 6 3 | GBR 10 | HUN 8 | BEL Ret 4 | NED 5 | ITA 3 | SIN 1 | JPN 6 | QAT DNS 6 | USA 3 6 | MXC 4 | SAP 6 8 | LVG 6 | ABU 18† | 7th | 200 | ||
| 2024 | Scuderia Ferrari | Ferrari SF-24 | Ferrari 066/12 1.6 V6 t | BHR 3 | SAU WD | AUS 1 | JPN 3 | CHN 5 5 | MIA 5 5 | EMI 5 | MON 3 | CAN Ret | ESP 6 | AUT 3 5 | GBR 5 | HUN 6 | BEL 6 | NED 5 | ITA 4 | AZE 18† | SIN 7 | USA 2 2 | MXC 1 | SAP Ret 5 | LVG 3 | QAT 6 4 | ABU 2 | 5th | 290 |
| 2025 | Atlassian Williams Racing | Williams FW47 | Mercedes-AMG F1 M16 V6 t | AUS Ret | CHN 10 | JPN 14 | BHR Ret | SAU 8 | MIA 9 | EMI 8 | MON 10 | ESP 14 | CAN 10 | AUT DNS | GBR 12 | BEL 18 6 | HUN 14 | NED 13 | ITA 11 | AZE 3 | SIN 10 | USA Ret 3 | MXC 17† | SAP 13 | LVG 5 | QAT 3 8 | ABU 13 | 9th | 64 |
| 2026 | Atlassian Williams Racing | Williams FW48 | Mercedes-AMG F1 M17 V6 t | AUS | CHN | JPN | BHR | SAU | MIA | CAN | MON | ESP | AUT | GBR | BEL | HUN | NED | ITA | MAD | AZE | SIN | USA | MXC | SAP | LVG | QAT | ABU | – | – |
‡ Half points awarded as less than 75% of race distance was completed.
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