The scenes involving Carlos Sainz in Baku were a stark contrast to those encountered with Ferrari during the recent Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, marking his last podium and final race for the Scuderia. This time, Sainz was able to unleash all the euphoria with his mechanics, both on the podium and at the garage door. It wasn’t just about the renowned extinguisher ceremony with his closest team members; it was a perfect harmony with everyone on the team. From Gaetan Jego, his track engineer, to James Vowles, the team principal, the atmosphere was electric. Not to forget his teammate and fierce rival, Alex Albon, who closely watched the ceremonies of national anthems and champagne.
For the seventh consecutive year, driving for three different teams, Sainz managed to secure a podium in Formula 1. To grasp the significance of this achievement, it’s essential to note that among the current drivers, only Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen have maintained such consistency, though they accomplished this without stepping down from their respective Ferrari and Red Bull teams.
If there are doubts regarding the historical importance of Sainz’s achievement, it’s worth remembering that previously, only Alain Prost had managed at least one podium with McLaren, Ferrari, and Williams. “Le Professeur” tallied 63 at Woking, 14 in Maranello, and 12 in Grove, while Sainz now has two with McLaren, 25 with Ferrari, and one with Williams.
“What Others Do Is None of My Business”
To add salt to the wound for the Scuderia, Sainz got to pop the champagne before Lewis Hamilton, his replacement at the Cavallino team. Currently, the seven-time world champion has not reached the podium in 17 races, which brings him just two shy of the record held by Didier Pironi, who after a dismal 1981 season could only find success in the San Marino GP in 1982.
When asked about this situation during the official FIA press conference, Sainz displayed a great sense of decorum. “What others do is none of my business,” he concluded. In fact, one of the first to congratulate him was Leclerc, with whom he still shares most of his flights every weekend. The Monegasque approached him personally, along with Yuki Tsunoda and Albon. Despite this third-place finish for Carlos, Albon still enjoys a significant lead in the championship standings (70-31) and dominates their head-to-head race record (9-3).
This makes the spirit of sportsmanship within Williams in Baku all the more noteworthy. It wasn’t just the loyal Team 55—comprised of his agent Carlos Oñoro and physical trainer Pierluigi Della Bona—that celebrated; they shared the moment with the entire Williams team. From Albon to Vowles, all were emotional about his first podium away from Mercedes. The only missing figure during the garage celebration was Roberto Merhi, who had traveled to Japan to fulfill obligations in the Super GT category.
“I’ve been lucky to achieve many podiums in my career, but this is one I will remember forever. Carlos drove phenomenally: exceptional driving from start to finish. It was a pleasure to watch him. You could feel and hear how much it meant to him,” commented Vowles, who received a couple of tokens signed by Toto Wolff, his former boss at Mercedes.
As soon as Sainz crossed the finish line, Vowles had been involved in a touching radio conversation. When Carlos’s engineer could not contain his emotions, Sainz asked, “You sound a bit emotional; are you okay?” “Yes, I can confirm he is,” Vowles interjected. “I love making a friend cry with joy. Please send my regards to the family, Gaetan,” Sainz concluded.
“A New Pet on Your Helmet?”
Those smiles lingered for a few moments longer as Sainz conversed with Max Verstappen, the indisputable winner in Baku. As they reviewed video footage from the race, the seven-time champion noticed a small detail on Sainz’s helmet—a blue sticker he had imprinted at the request of a young fan before Saturday’s qualifying. “Do you have a new pet on your helmet?” asked the Dutch driver. “It’s a unicorn!” Sainz replied. “Well, you’ll have to keep it from now on.”
To fuel the narrative, Sainz added his own interpretation of events. “Now I understand why everything happened this way; my first podium had to occur like this. Life, you know? Sometimes it brings bad moments just to give you something truly wonderful afterward. And this remains far better than anything I expected,” he admitted right after removing his helmet in front of James Hinchcliffe.
Sainz, celebrating with champagne in Baku on Sunday.
It had been over four years since George Russell‘s podium at the Belgian GP in 2021, which on paper marked the last for Williams. However, that day under heavy rain on Spa was far from a conventional event, being one of the most ridiculed episodes in F1 history. Aside from that two-lap race, the prior podium for the Grove team dated back another four years. Once again at the Azerbaijan GP, thanks to an 18-year-old rookie named Lance Stroll.
The parallels with Stroll’s third-place finish are both intriguing and significant. Back then, Stroll also relinquished second place in the closing stages, under pressure from a Mercedes, driven by Valtteri Bottas. And just as it happened with Sainz, that podium marked a resurgence after a poor start to the season, where Stroll had only scored points in one of the first seven races.
Certainly, something magical seems to ignite anytime Sainz steps onto a podium for the first time. McLaren fans still wax nostalgic about that third-place finish at the Brazilian GP in 2019, a moment that ended more than five years of drought. At that time, McLaren’s last podium had been at the Australian GP in 2014, with Jenson Button behind the wheel.