Carlos Sainz mounts his own ‘Plan’

Carlos Sainz has many times been blamed for a vitola of being very lucky. Being born into the family that has made him, where he has sucked motorsports from the cradle, opened many doors for him, which became even bigger when he became part of Fernando Alonso’s circle of trust.

However, first the shadow of his father and then that of his good friend and mentor have weighed heavily on him. Right at the optimum point of maturity for him, he has yet to see how Alonso snatches headlines and the focus of a hobby that continues in the alonsismo boat despite the fact that he has earned on his own merits to be much higher. Now, in his second year at Ferrari, he has a golden opportunity.

During the months that have passed since the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix that ended the unforgettable 2021 season, with Sainz on the podium, until now, many eyes have been directed at Maranello. The good development work of the F1-75 has crystallized in a pre-season in which the word ‘favourite’ was installed next to the garage of the red cars, largely thanks to a lot of work over many years. Few boats more complicated to steer than the Scuderia’s, but it seems that they may be close to controlling it.

Carlos Sainz is at his perfect cooking point and Fernando Alonso knows it. At 41 years old, the Asturian has more past than future in Formula 1 and while Alpine talks about a long-term idea, he insists on clinging to that ‘Plan’ that started as an internet meme, became a slogan and it has ended up showing through in a song by Melendi. The ‘neoalonsismo’ has been installed in the bosom of the Spanish fans, who take his support to an Alonso who tries to carry it with pride but with caution to unsuspected limits.

And it is that in ‘El Plan’, beyond hashtags and a great sense of humor, there is little background. The A522 will not be on the starting grid in Bahrain in a position to contend for victory, or at least not as one of the big favourites. Like the proverb of the finger and the moon, while some look at Alonso’s hashtag, others look more at the plan (this one without quotes or ambiguity) that they are developing at Ferrari.

Fireproof

It’s now, but if it doesn’t come, it doesn’t have to be ever. Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc can live an unforgettable year or remain diluted in the volcanic future that is expected in Ferrari, a team capable of self-destruction as Alonso can explain. Both one and the other respect and admire each other, since they know that they must row together until they reach the crest of the wave, where it will be necessary to see who passes it and who is shipwrecked. Nothing would make one or the other happier to lose that friendship and good vibes if in return they are fighting to be world champions. That, perhaps, is nothing more than an inevitable consequence if Ferrari ends up being up there. They will have fearsome rivals, such as the seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton who is in search of the height never reached or a Max Verstappen who defends the number 1 that he won tooth and nail in 2021.

Whatever happens, the Spanish fans are in luck. Both Sainz and Alonso will give it their all on the track, even if it means fighting each other. If someone is missing to get into Formula 1, let no one doubt that this 2022 can be a perfect time.