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Carlos Sainz has won the Dakar Rally for a record-extending fourth time, becoming the oldest person to win it at 61. This also marked Audi Sports' first victory in the series.
After the end of the final stage (12) of the Dakar Rally at Yanbu, Team Audi Sport stood at the top of the standings with a time of 48 hours, 15 minutes, and 18 seconds. They were over 1 hour and 20 minutes ahead of Overdrive Racing in second, driven by Guillaume De Mevius. Alongside Carlos Sainz was his Spanish teammate Lucas Cruz.
Their victory seemed imminent after their rival Sebastien Loeb was stranded for over an hour during the earlier stage of the series. Remarkably, Sainz did not win a single individual stage throughout the 12-stage series and yet managed to win with a consistent performance. The Audi is also the first car to win the Dakar Rally with an alternative drivetrain, another remarkable achievement for both the drivers and the team.
Also known as 'El Matador', Sainz has been crowned the WRC World Champion twice, and his fourth victory at Dakar is another incredible accomplishment.
Optimism ahead for Carlos Sainz Jr. as Ferrari reportedly gains pace in their 2024 F1 challenger
While the list of achievements for Carlos Sainz is long, his son has also been progressing impressively with Ferrari in Formula 1. He has won two Grands Prix so far (Great Britain 2022, Singapore 2023) and continues to race competitively with the Italian outfit.
While he was the only non-Red Bull driver to win a race throughout the 2023 F1 season, the rest of their campaign was rather difficult. Carlos Sainz finished the season's final race outside of points because of the team's strategic error. His finishing position was crucial for Ferrari to pip Mercedes to second place in the constructor's standings, but that could not happen.
Regardless, there have been multiple reports of Ferrari making progress on their 2024 F1 challenger. It was earlier reported that the car has gained about 9% of downforce, making them almost half a second faster, and it was also recently stated that they have managed to make the car six kilograms lighter than the FIA's 798kg limit. The car's lighter weight will also allow the tires to last longer, hence fighting one of the major weaknesses of the car - tire degradation.
These are crucial points for the team to work on and if the reports are legitimate, Carlos Sainz Jr. could be looking at a much better F1 season in 2024.
