It is quite common for leading figures in the world of sport to have an heir or heiress, in the singular and sometimes in the plural, in their own discipline or another. The list of examples is long, at an international level but also with regard to great Spanish athletes. One of the most obvious cases occurs with Carlos Sainzhistorical figure of Spanish and world motorsport, and his son, Carlos Sainz Jr.who has followed in his father’s footsteps, although, unlike him, he is not a rally driver, but rather a Formula 1 driver. Recently, Carlos Jr. He has spoken in depth about the pressures as an athlete due to the long shadow of his father. Have you ever felt like being a “son of”?
This is Carlos Sainz’s family: his wife and three children
At twenty-nine years old, Carlos Jr. has an extensive and renowned automobile career. Due to his family influence (his uncle, Antonio Sainz, is also a pilot), he began to take his first steps in the world of motorsport very early, being just a child: At two and a half years old he was already driving a battery car that they had given him in the garden at home, doing spinning tops and tricks.
At twelve years old, although His father wanted him to try other sports., was already competing in the world of karting professionally. And the trophies began to arrive. At fifteen he debuted in Formula BMW, advancing through the different categories during his adolescence, participating in a very large number of championships and high-speed motorsport events. At the end of 2014, at the age of twenty, it was announced his signing as a driver for the Toro Rosso team for the Formula 1 season 2015.
Carlos Sainz Jr. in a recent imageEuropa Press
Carlos Sainz Jr. abandons his usual discretion and opens up for the first time
Since then, the name of the Madrid native has become one of the most prominent in world motorsport. Since three years ago compete with the Ferrari team, becoming fourth in the classification. Despite the enormous international interest in him, Sainz, the middle of the pilot’s three children with Reyes Vázquez de Castroremains a very unknown figure on a personal level, which usually avoids the media spotlight. He recently made an exception by granting an interview for the podcast ‘Nude Project’, presented by Álex Benlloch and Bruno Casanovas.
Carlos has been honest about many issues during his time in the aforementioned format. About his sporting vocation since he was a child, about the ins and outs of the Formula 1 championship, and also about private issues, acknowledging being very aware of the privileged position he enjoys. Speaking with Benlloch and Casasnovas, the Ferrari driver has acknowledged, for example, that he does notOr do you know if you would like, if you have a child tomorrow, for him to follow in your footsteps? as he did from his father.
Carlos Sainz, at the Emilia Romagna GP this yearEuropa Press
Has Carlos Sainz Jr. felt pressured by his father’s long sporting shadow?
The pilot declares that in 2004, at the age of ten, He realized the magnitude of his father’s figure following a tribute that was made to him in Madrid. The magnitude of it made him aware and began to pay more attention to how people treated him: “My father is a great guy, my father moves,” he admits now that he thought then. And from there the pressures began to arrive: “Once we got into the world of motor sport, I saw the amount of people who respected him. People who told me ‘What a father you have, what a great father you are.’ And that, for a kid of twelve or thirteen years old, puts pressure“Carlos admits.
Analyzing his close bond with his father, Sainz Jr. confesses that heYour father has been your biggest fan and best defender., in all the moments in which you have needed it. But he does explain that during his beginnings, his competitors “grew him a lot” for being Carlos Sainz’s son. He sat him down one day and gave him some advice: “In this sport you either bite or they bite you and they are biting you […] When you put that helmet on, make sure you’re the one who bites,” he remembers now. He admits that He then had “many mini complexes” due to his father’s shadow and how it was perceived by others.
Summing up the issue, Carlos admits that being honest, In practical terms, being a “son of” is an advantage. Having a father who has done well has allowed them to have financial support to start their sporting career, or to get sponsors when they were young. “He has the experience to give you advice,” he added. Personally, it is a different question: “Carry inside your head that ‘you are the son of’ It’s an extra pressure once you’re alone in the car. and it’s you against the world, it’s not that easy“Although he prefers it, he highlights that these handicaps, etiquette and continuous comparison must be taken into account.
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