Sainz sr., too hard on Carlos Sainz, so they made "the two caps pact"
F1 News
It is no easy feat for any driver to make it onto the F1 grid, however the experience is no less difficult for their parents, with the never ending search for laptime, sponsors and the right seat for their children requiring their absolute dedication. A fragile situation that puts a strain on their relationships, and one that Carlos Sainz and his father, Carlos Sainz sr., could not escape either.
Carlos Sainz sr., in the podcast, El Cafelito, talked about his role in Carlos Sainz' career. "Well, I try to advise him like any father and little by little I have been going with him less, being less present and now I go to 6-7 races a year. I try to enjoy when things are going well and he knows that I am always there," stated the rally driver.
Later he added that "also when I see that there is something that I don't like, well, he knows that I am going to pick up the phone and that I am going to tell him." Why? "Because I think I should tell him. Sometimes in the world of Formula 1, the Formula 1 drivers live a bit in a bubble."
Anthony Hamiton and Lewis Hamilton, Jos Verstappen and Max Verstappen are some of the most talked about successful father-son, mentor-pupil relationships in the history of F1 with them yielding seven and four world championships respectively. Carlos Sainz sr., and his son Carlos Sainz', although not as successful, also saw the tension between the pair grow as both did their utmost to reach the pinnacle of motorsport.
"The two caps pact"
"I remember one time when he was much younger than now, my wife tells me 'you have to be careful, don't be too hard on him, you tell him things and he [Sainz Jr.] has already told me that a distance is growing between the two of you." After thinking about it for a couple of days, Sainz sr., took his wife's advice. "I have to talk to Carlos about this, because I really don't want to separate myself from him and create a problem. simply because I'm telling him what I really think I should tell him."
What did Sainz sr., do? "I sat down with him and said, I think we should make a pact," said the former Dakar champion. "From now on I'm going to buy two caps, one that says dad and another that says manager. When I put on the manager cap you can't get angry with me. It can't be that I'm advising you in good faith and you get angry with me and our relationship deteriorates. I think it's good for you. If I put on my manager's hat, you can't get mad at me." Sainz sr., concluded.
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