F1
A very special farewell to Ferrari for the Sainz family
Father and son share the track at Fiorano behind the wheel of two 2022 F1-75s on an unforgettable day that the 'Scuderia' prepared for them to say goodbye.
Tuesday 17 December 2024, 9:45 in the morning, the engine of a Formula 1 car starts on the Fiorano circuit in northern Italy to start a very special day. Carlos Sainz is behind the wheel, but not the 30-year-old Ferrari driver, but the legend and two-time World Rally Champion, his father and namesake.
Almost 20 years after testing a World Championship car, then Alonso’s Renault in 2006, the Matador once again has the opportunity to experience the speed of the king of motorsport with his son. The perfect farewell to the Scuderia.
Sainz bids Ferrari arrivederci
That’s what Ferrari had prepared to say goodbye with full honors to the driver who has given everything for Maranello in these last four years and who is forced to leave to make way for a seven-time champion. And also to his father, a regular in the paddock and the red box.
Two 2022 F1-75s were made available for both of them and it was Sainz Senior who started the first one under the watchful eye of his son, who admitted half seriously, half jokingly, with the radio headphones on so as not to miss a detail: “I’m very stressed!”
According to Ferrari, Carlos Sr. “spun but soon found his rhythm and completed several stints with consistent lap times.” In the middle of the morning, it was his son who took to the track in the car with which he achieved his first World Championship victory at Silverstone to join in that unique moment. “I will have him in front of me,” he warned. And just as Charles Leclerc, also present there, did with his brother Arthur at the Abu Dhabi tests that closed the season, both shared the circuit with two Ferraris.
And things didn’t end there. As a grand finale, the Sainz family switched from Ferrari to a classic from the Prancing Horse brand, the historic 1955 735 LM that Harry Schell and Maurice Trintignant drove in the 24 Hours of Le Mans (and Piero Taruffi in the Mille Miglia).
Once the activity on the Scuderia’s test circuit was over, everyone present, including boss Fred Vasseur, joined together to immortalize the moment with a family photo with Sainz Jr. dressed in red for the last time and his father in white, as he will do from next year at Williams.
“A very happy grandfather”
The two Spaniards then took the floor to thank the team for their lovely gesture towards them.
“I wanted to thank you all, you have made a grandfather a very happy man today,” the father said first. “A 62-year-old grandfather has tested a Ferrari this year and won the Dakar,” his proud son added afterwards, raising the applause of the rest, who finished by saying goodbye.
“Thank you all, Merry Christmas and I’ll see you on the track next year.” Sainz father and son are unique, they deserved a farewell to match, which is just what they got.