Latest news with #CarlosSainzJr
Daily Mail
25-05-2025
- Automotive
- Daily Mail
A picture of calm as Rebecca Donaldson joins Formula 1 racing driver boyfriend Carlos Sainz Jr for a stroll ahead of the Monaco Grand Prix
The track side is filled with fumes and revving engine noises with mechanics often in grime-covered overalls working at the speed of light to change tyres. But Scots model Rebecca Donaldson looked a picture of calm and ready for the catwalk as she joined her boyfriend Carlos Sainz Jr for the Monaco Grand Prix yesterday. Looking immaculate in her white and grey outfit, she was out for a stroll around the paddock ahead of the race with the Spaniard struggling to keep up on a bike. The 28-year-old, from Scone, Perthshire, has been linked to the Williams driver, 30, since 2023 and has been a regular sight at the Formula 1 circuit this season. Despite her heels the Scots beauty, who has featured in the covers of high-end fashion magazines including Vogue and Marie Claire, walked at some pace alongside the racing driver. But it was another disappointing day for Ms Donaldson as her beau failed to make the podium with Britain's Lando Norris taking the top spot.
Metro
22-05-2025
- Automotive
- Metro
Monaco toy story is all good fun but keeping it clean isn't child's play
You can tell the Monaco Grand Prix is essentially a work from home situation for the drivers, the vast majority of whom live in the Mediterranean tax haven. Just look at the car park. Whereas normally F1 stars commute in whatever company cars their teams dictate, here those who haven't walked from their nearby apartments, or cycled, have arrived in their latest and proudest boys toys. Take Carlos Sainz Jr, who has used the occasion to show off his most valuable automotive asset, a customised limited-edition Ferrari Daytona SP3 in satin grey that's worth in the region of £2million. He may drive for Williams these days (and keep an eye on them this weekend, as they could spring a surprise), but he is clearly not about to ditch the prancing horse key fob. Or Lando Norris, who has eschewed his equally fast McLaren road car for the latest Porsche 911 GT3 RS, with a Weissach performance package and bespoke dark green hue. Perhaps he couldn't quite stretch to, or blag, the £3m McLaren Solus GT car of which just 25 have been built, one of which painted in red-and-white Marlboro colours is sitting pride of place on the deck of a superyacht in Monaco's harbour this weekend. That's the trouble with the principality; there's always someone with a more eye-catching accessory. And with that, George Russell can probably boast the most desirable car in the drivers' car park – his 219mph 1,049bhp Mercedes-AMG ONE hypercar is currently valued at over £4.3m. To win in Monaco is extra special, not least because it's the oldest grand prix on the calendar and irrefutably the most glamorous. It is the ultimate test of driver precision, a place where the tiniest mistake is punished with a carbon-shattering DNF. To win here, you don't just need a clean Sunday, you need an incident-free run up in order to perfect your set-up, find where the limit is, and put yourself in the best possible position on the starting grid. As everyone knows, Monaco is usually an overtaking-free zone. Drivers who have excelled here before from the current crop include three-time winner Lewis Hamilton, two-time winner Max Verstappen, and last year's winner, home favourite Charles Leclerc. Leclerc broke his curse finally, and will be hoping for luck again. He could use it, having only a single podium to show for the year so far. Sixth place in Imola was a struggle. Hamilton fared better with P4 but Ferrari are still some way off the pace of the McLaren, the Mercedes and, in Verstappen's hands, the Red Bull. 'Here, it's all about low speed,' said Leclerc, indicating the usual suspects mightn't have the same advantage at this event. 'I hope we'll discover something new about our car that we haven't seen yet.' Yuki Tsunoda is under pressure to avoid mistakes this weekend, having utterly destroyed his RB21 in qualifying last Saturday. Five grands prix and a sprint into his Red Bull Racing career, having taken over from Liam Lawson at Suzuka onwards, the Japanese driver has only seven points to show for it. Max, who currently sits third in the championship behind Oscar Piastri and Norris, has scored 88 points in that time, along with three best starting position so far was his P8 in Saudi. He needs to step up. 'The constructors' is very much a long shot at the moment,' said team principal Christian Horner of the world championship. 'So all our focus is on the drivers.' The drivers have taken a couple of hours out of their hectic schedules to relax in front of the big screen. They were treated to a private screening of the Brad Pitt-led F1: The Movie ahead of its global cinema release on June 25 and, when they emerged, they gushed about the realism of the racing scenes. 'The footage is insane. That is, for me, the best part of all of it,' judged Carlos Sainz. The film was made on location over two seasons with Pitt and co-star Damson Idris behind the wheel themselves for some shots. Ollie Bearman described Pitt's driving as 'impressive'. 'He was pushing the car, that's for sure. He did his homework, so it's cool. It's going to be a huge hit, and it's going to make people want to watch F1.' More Trending Max Verstappen and Lance Stroll were the only invitees to decline a ticket. 'I just wanted to spend more time at home,' said the notoriously showbiz-averse four-time world champion. 'It wasn't a mandatory event, and it was my private time.' Monaco is subject to a rule change this year: All drivers must pit twice. The aim is to boost the chances of changes to the order as a result of tyre switches and differing strategies. A minimum of three sets of Pirellis will be used on each car. 'It will definitely help, especially with strategy,' said Charles Leclerc, whose Ferrari team has come a cropper on strategy here before. 'With no clear pit-stop windows, it could present opportunities for drivers starting from further back to move up the order by making the most of running in clean air,' Pirelli stated. MORE: How to watch French Open 2025: TV channel and live stream from the UK MORE: Alejandro Garnacho and his brother blast Ruben Amorim after Manchester United defeat in Europa League final MORE: Tottenham vs Man Utd: Win the Europa League final and Spurs have had a better season than Arsenal – trophies are the priority
BBC News
07-05-2025
- Automotive
- BBC News
FIA: Carlos Sainz Sr considering running for president
Rally legend Carlos Sainz Sr is considering running for president of the FIA, motorsport's governing body, in December's election. The 63-year-old two-time world champion told external he was "in the process of figuring out how much support I will get in the community of motorsport". Sainz - who is also a four-time winner of the Dakar Rally, on which this year he was still competing - would be running against current FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem, whose term in office since 2021 has been beset by controversy. Ben Sulayem has not yet formally declared his intention to run again, but is known to be intending to. No other potential candidate has yet declared interest. Sainz said: "This possibility has been in my mind for some time now, not very deeply, but now I think it could be the right time in my career for me to take the step. "I'm confident I can do a good job and put together an excellent team to give back to the sport part of what it has given me. "I have accumulated a lot of experience in this sport throughout the years and I'm certain I can bring new and interesting things, to strengthen and develop the sport and the automobile world." Sainz is widely regarded as a man of seriousness and integrity, as well as unquestionably an all-time great in his field. Sources say he is a consequential candidate and would have widespread support from within the sport. Sainz said there would be no conflict of interest with the fact that his son Carlos is an active F1 driver with Williams. "I have my track record and people know me well enough to understand that this will not be an issue," Sainz said. "Obviously, I will have to step down regarding my role with Carlos and his career but this is not an issue at all. "He's not a child any more, he has been in F1 for a decade now and we both know that if I go ahead with this project our relationship will change, of course. "The FIA is a very serious entity and there will be no conflict." Ben Sulayem suffered a blow to his presidency with the resignation of his deputy president for sport, Robert Reid, last month. Reid quit citing "a fundamental breakdown in governance standards" within the FIA. On the day Reid announced his resignation, the former FIA chief executive officer Natalie Robyn broke the silence she had maintained since being forced to resign last summer after 18 months in the role. Robyn told BBC Sport the FIA had "serious ongoing structural challenges", adding that "professional processes are not adhered to and stakeholders are excluded from decision-making". Robyn's departure came after she raised questions about the general governance of the FIA and its professional practices, including finances in the president's office. Her departure was followed by those of the head of the audit committee Bertrand Badre, a former head of the World Bank, and audit committee member Tom Purves, a former BMW executive. In November, Ben Sulayem fired FIA compliance officer Paolo Basarri, who in March last year looked into allegations that Ben Sulayem interfered in the operations of the Saudi Arabian and Las Vegas Grands Prix in 2023. Ben Sulayem was cleared following an investigation by the FIA's ethics committee. The FIA is currently the subject of legal action by Susie Wolff, the boss of the F1 Academy for aspiring female drivers, after a controversial conflict of interest inquiry into her and her husband, Toto Wolff, the boss of Mercedes motorsport. Senior FIA figures have also raised concerns about Ben Sulayem's decision to change the statutes of the governing body last year to reduce accountability. And at last weekend's Miami Grand Prix, Grand Prix Drivers' Association director George Russell called for action rather than words from the FIA on the controversy over censures for swearing and criticising the governing body. The FIA is also yet to explain the circumstances behind the return to the organisation of former interim secretary general Shaila-Ann Rao, a little over two years after she left the organisation following a difficult relationship with Ben Sulayem.
