• Classification.Bottas takes the 'pole' and Hamilton disappoints: "It has been a total disaster"
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On March 15, 2015, Carlos Sainz debuted in Formula 1 in Melbourne Park at the wheel of a Toro Rosso. That Sunday, all the attentions in the Helmut Marko team fell to Max Verstappen , a 17-year-old boy, three years younger than the Spaniard, with whom the Red Bull subsidiary presented the youngest drivers duo in history. Sainz's talent, at the time in question, had only been recorded in the BMW Formula. Five years later, nobody doubts the conditions of Carlos, one of the most consistent drivers on the grid, who today will celebrate his 100th race at the United States GP.

Many in Red Bull regret having let an opportunity like this pass through the same door of their garage. In the ranking drawn up by F1 itself, Sainz is listed as the third best driver in the World Cup, only worse than Lewis Hamilton and Verstappen. Below we list some of the keys and curiosities of its consolidation in the elite.

Work ethic

Throughout the weekend, the transfer at the McLaren hospitality in the Circuit of the Americas has been exhausting. The numerous commitments with the sponsors (Coca Cola, Estrella Galicia) explain for themselves the growth of a team led on the track by Sainz. Seventh in the table, with one point less than Pierre Gasly and two more than Alexander Albon , the objective of consolidating the MCL-34 at the head of the middle part of the classification has been fulfilled.

Also to win the pulse of Lando Norris , his rookie garage neighbor, who almost doubles in points. However, at this point, Carlos is not going to vary one iota that work ethic with which he has convinced the skeptics. Even when the filmmakers relegate him to television ostracism.

Stubborn routines

Sainz is still the great driver who signed that colossal fourth place in Singapore 2018 or fifth in the classification of the GP of Spain 2015. The one who meets the stubborn routine of getting in and out of the car on the right side. Or the first glove on the left glove. With these manias has been saving the dangers of a sport heritage of the boldest. After that spooky accident in Sochi 2015, a relative tranquility in that aspect. Maybe because he has always had a unique protector.

From his first steps in the cars, Carlos receives the attention of someone he considers from the family. Juanjo Lacalle , manager for so many years of his father in the rallies , buys him ribbons with the flag of Spain and the figure of the Virgen del Pilar. So each of its helmets contains one of these relics. Including the premiere this weekend in Austin, with a commemorative design of its centenary at the Grand Circus.

Gastronomic weakness

The helmet, of course, says a lot about Sainz, who proudly looks like a chili, without a doubt its most distinctive feature. There is not a single Sunday in which the nearest circle does not fit socks with drawings of the red fruit. All because since childhood, Carlos is Chili for his friends at school. It doesn't matter that you never liked spicy food. It doesn't matter that your true gastronomic weakness is hamburgers. Because there is not a single Sunday, after each race, when I give up grilled meat. Even at an airport time.

'Smooth Operator'

The meticulous care in the feeding intensifies on Saturdays, minutes before the classification, when you give up any solid in favor of a special shake. Inside the garage, engineers and mechanics value the full involvement of their leader. Last July, after a great sixth place at Silverstone, what had been cooking since weeks ago was made public on the radio. The conversation with Tom Stallard , his track engineer, revealed Carlos's other nickname: Smooth Operator . The title of Sade's song, which could be translated as a "fine operator," perfectly illustrates his driving style.

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