Sainz Jr: Dad warned me '100 times' about Monte Carlo course car run
Renault Formula 1 driver Carlos Sainz Jr said his father warned him "about 100 times" to be careful ahead of driving the final two stages of the Monte Carlo Rally last Sunday

Sainz Jr drove a Renault Megane R.S. course car on the Col de Turini and Col de Braus stages of the 2018 World Rally Championship opener, his first involvement in an official rally.
Those stages contained a mix of dry and wet road, dirt, slush and polished ice, and Sainz said his two-time WRC champion father had urged him to be cautious before an event he arrived too late to do a recce for.
"I talked to my co-driver earlier in the week and I told him just to grade the notes quite simply," he explained.
"He told me the areas with the ice and gravel - there was a lot of gravel in the powerstage.
"This was a lot to take in at the start, but as I got to know the pacenotes, all of a sudden I started to feel more together and I could push a bit more - but only when it was dry and I was confident of the grip.
"Before I came here, my dad asked me about 100 times to be careful.
"It was not a day to try something special and to do something special without proper preparation."
Sainz said he would have preferred to arrive two days earlier and replicate his father's tendency to "prepare everything in detail".
The 23-year-old is preparing for his first full season with the Renault team after being loaned to the French manufacturer by Red Bull.
He added the experience was "the best thing the team could ask the son of a World Rally champion".

"It was a dream come true to drive over the Turini with three or four kilometres of ice," he said.
"Coming up the hill on the Turini stage, I was looking and waiting, then my co-driver said, 'The col is coming'.
"We came through the right and left and over the top: there it was. Suddenly so many memories came to my mind.
"The atmosphere was incredible, but it was hard to take it all in."
Sainz admitted that the spectacle of the stage was quickly replaced by caution as he tried to complete it.
"The conditions from there down the hill to the finish of that stage were so slippery and really tricky," he said.
"There were a couple of kinks, where it was difficult to keep the foot down.
"I had the winter tyre, but I didn't have the stud, which is why in the ice I was very, very, very steady.
"It's definitely made me more excited to do something, but it's not my time for this yet."

Petter Solberg and Marcus Gronholm test new VW Polo GTI R5
Hyundai must avoid 'panic' after tough Monte Carlo 2018 WRC opener

Latest news
Las Vegas approves plan to shut Strip for F1 race until 2032
Officials in Las Vegas have approved a plan to shut the Strip for the Formula 1 grand prix for the next 10 years as they eye a “lifetime in partnership.”
Porsche boss “as surprised as anyone” over Gulf-Williams F1 social media frenzy
Porsche’s head of motorsport Thomas Laudenbach found it “funny” that streamlining its Instagram channels caused a Formula 1 social media speculation frenzy last month.
Why Albon won't be "throwing around laptops" to gain a 2023 F1 edge
OPINION: At the Williams 2023 Formula 1 season launch, Alex Albon’s easy-going nature was again a point of focus. But does being “too nice” really matter in modern F1? Albon’s own expressions put that in an intriguing new light
Why Alfa Romeo has kept its blade roll hoop on 2023 F1 car
The Alfa Romeo Formula 1 team has retained its unique blade roll hoop for the C43 but designed it to withstand load tests that the FIA will introduce in 2024.
Why Monte Carlo success could spark another past master’s WRC revival
Some 39 years on from his Monte Carlo Rally debut, World Rally Championship legend Francois Delecour continues to pick up silverware. Proving that age is purely a number, the 60-year-old's desire to compete against the WRC’s latest young talents could be the start of a new chapter in the Frenchman’s storied career
How fired-up Ogier became the WRC's ultimate Monte master
He may only be contesting a part-time campaign in the World Rally Championship these days, but Sebastien Ogier underlined that he's lost none of his speed in the 2023 season opener. Storming to yet another victory on the Monte Carlo Rally, the eight-time world champion rewrote the history books again as Toyota served notice of its intentions with a crushing 1-2
How Lancia pulled off its famous Monte Carlo giantkilling
Audi should have been invincible in the snowy conditions that typically greeted the World Rally Championship paddock in Monte Carlo. But unexpectedly warm weather for the 1983 season opener, combined with some left-field thinking from the Lancia crew turned the tables. Forty years on, team boss Cesare Fiorio reflects on a smash and grab
Why M-Sport has pinned all its efforts on a WRC reunion
M-Sport had a disastrous 2022 with its Rally1 Ford Pumas following Sebastien Loeb’s first-time-out win on the Monte. But now things are looking up with 2019 world champion Ott Tanak leading its attack, and the Cumbrian operation has optimism that it can challenge for a first title since Sebastien Ogier's departure at the end of 2018
The contenders seeking to take Rovanpera's WRC crown
As Kalle Rovanpera begins his World Rally Championship title defence in Monte Carlo, the Finn knows he has a target on his back. But who is best placed to knock the Toyota ace off his perch?
Why Rovanpera is anticipating a fight to defend his WRC title
Question: what could be harder than becoming the youngest-ever World Rally champion? Answer: becoming the youngest-ever two-time World Rally champion. That's quite the challenge facing Toyota's Kalle Rovanpera in 2022, particularly against rejuvenated opposition in the second year of the WRC's hybrid regulations
From F1 to WRC: Why Hyundai's new boss could be an inspired signing
OPINION: New Hyundai WRC team boss Cyril Abiteboul admits he’s got a lot to learn as he leads the marque's efforts to dethrone Toyota. But could his Formula 1 experience and evident strengths mean he turns out to be an inspired choice?
The ultimate rally car project the WRC is glad COVID killed
Toyota was unstoppable in the 2021 World Rally Championship, with an excellent 75% strike rate from 12 rallies. But in a scary proposition for its rivals, the Japanese marque had built a car for the final year of the previous regulations set which it believes was much faster and could feasibly have crushed the opposition completely. Here the story of its mothballed world-beater
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.