The day every fan was waiting for since Carlos Sainz first signed for Ferrari has finally arrived. The Spanish F1 driver has made his debut at the controls of a car from the Italian team, in a historic day for Spaniard motorsport.

Carlos Sainz‘ debut run has been organised as part of the private testing week that Ferrari is currently holding at Fiorano, just one and a half kilometres from Maranello, the team’s headquarters. 

It was a very special and emotional moment for all of his Spanish following, as Carlos completed the first few kilometres behind the wheel of a Ferrari single-seater, the most successful Formula 1 team in history. Sainz is fulfilling a dream within the reach of very few drivers both inside and outside Formula 1. 

SF71H: Carlos Sainz´ test car

The driver from Madrid, just as Leclerc and the other members of the Ferrari Drivers Academy (Giuliano Alesi, Robert Shwartzman and Marcus Armstrong) who have preceded him in the tests, had his maiden run onboard an SF71H.

This is the model built for the 2018 season, the year of the hybrid era that Ferrari has been the closest to Mercedes. During that campaign they took six wins (Australia, Bahrain, Canada, Great Britain and Belgium) with Sebastian Vettel. 

FIA regulations only allow the use of cars which are at least two years old for this type of tests, and since the 2021 car, the SF21, has not yet seen the track, the 2018 has been the youngest model available to them. Its readiness – after having been used during other training sessions at Fiorano during 2020 – has also made it the perfect candidate for the occasion. 

These trials are very significant, especially for a driver arriving at a brand-new team. They are an essential step in preparation for the official season’s tests which are to take place from March 13 to 16 at the Sakhir Circuit in Bahrain.

This year, the official tests have been reduced from the usual six days to just three days per team, leaving each pilot with a mere day and a half to get to know and get used to his new machine. Just two weeks after that, the curtain will rise on the 2021 season in the same country. 

Historic day for Spaniard motorsport

Today it would have been six years, two months and four days since Fernando Alonso would put on the red jumpsuit for the last time on the occasion of the 2014 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix (23 November 2014). Today, his friend Carlos Sainz takes over the honour.

Carlos Sainz will be the third Spanish driver in history to compete in Formula 1 for Ferrari. The first was Alfonso de Portago who participated in six races between 1956 and 1957.

Alfonso came after him taking part in 96 GPs and achieving three runner-up positions in the World Championship with the ‘Cavallino Rampante‘.

Carlos Sainz opinion

After a very magic day for the Spaniard this is what he said: “A day I will never forget! This morning, the alarm went off at dawn because we had some very early meetings before going out on track. One of the most special moments for me today was when I arrived at the circuit and I saw the Ferrari with my number 55 on it! I was eager to jump in the car and that first installation lap was exciting.

“Then we got down to work and I am very pleased with how the day unfolded. We were able to get through an extensive programme and I was able to familiarise myself with the whole setup: the engineers and mechanics, the steering wheel, the procedures which are obviously a bit different to those on the car I drove last season”.

“It was very nice to have my father there at such an important moment in my career. And I’d like to thank Mattia, Laurent and everyone at Ferrari for such a warm welcome and such a positive first day in the 2018 car. I am very happy and could not have wished for a better start.”

Images of Carlos Sainz: Scuderia Ferrari.