Sainz win Dakar…no, the other Sainz

In Formula 1 circles, Carlos Sainz Jr. has certainly made a name for himself. For the first season or two, the “Jr.” was always added to his name when I wrote it but as time went on, it became less likely that anyone reading about him on our website would be confused between he and his father, Carlos Sainz Sr.

Just when you think the son has taken over the family name and his footprint is firmly on the neck of motorsport, Carlos Sainz Sr. goes and wins the Dakar Rally for 2018 which is the last for Peugeot.

“We managed to do it,” said Sainz. “They (Peugeot) have already won two times, but I think I deserved this victory because we have put lot of effort into this car.

“I had ups and downs, but I always tried my best. Especially this rally, it has been so, so hard,” added the Spaniard, who left open the question of whether he would be back next year without Peugeot.

“At the beginning I said we’ll take it a little bit easier, but Peugeot said we’d have to go flat out. I raced a couple of days and pushed really hard, but then the race was a case of not making mistakes.”

Peugeot won the previous two Dakars and had announced that this event would be their last. Sainz, a double world champion in rallying, won by 46 minutes on the final stage over Nasser al-Attiyah in a Toyota. His last win was in 2010 with VW. Carlos Sainz Jr. said:

“Today I am probably the proudest son of his father in the whole world. Winner of the toughest @dakar ever done in South America at 55 years of age (good number) and he did it in his own way,” who races number 55 in Formula 1.

It is quite a pedigree and if Carlos Sr. keeps this up, I’ll have to start adding “Jr.” back to the son’s name because some of us may actually get confused and which Sainz is winning which race. Well done Carlos…senior!

Hat Tip: Reuters