Carlos Sainz addressed a touching message to his father.
Carlos Sainz Sr. set off today on the Dakar rally-raid route, having promised in advance that this would be his last time starting this supermarathon.
His son Carlos, who races for Williams in Formula 1, sent his father a touching send-off, accompanying it with a photo from the family archive taken many years ago.
"For many years I've watched you take on this challenge," he writes. "Last summer I got a taste of it to some extent, and my admiration for you and what you do keeps growing. Good luck at Dakar, Dad! I'm proud of you and how you keep raising the bar and keep attacking! Vamos!"
The Spanish word with which Sainz ended his message can be simply translated as "Forward!"
His father has always had an attacking style, and it's no coincidence that he has two championship titles in the WRC and four Dakar wins to his name — Sainz Sr. last won the rally-raid two years ago when he was still driving for Audi. But now he pilots the Ford Raptor race SUV for the factory Ford Racing team, whose drivers are counted among the favorites.
According to preliminary information, the distance of today's prologue was covered fastest by a driver from that team — Sainz's teammate Mattias Ekström.
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Carlos Sainz addressed a touching message to his father.
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