WATCH: Ferrari’s ‘Chilli’ Carlos Sainz rocks a stylish new mustache to pay homage to his trainer ahead of the Imola Grand Prix

Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz donned up to the Imola GP Friday Free Practice session in a new look to pay homage to his Italian trainer Pierluigi Della Bona. The Spanish driver, nicknamed 'Chilli', is known for his slick looks and personality that complements his driving style on the track well.

The 29-year-old is often spotted in the paddock with stylish clothes, messy hair, and a clean-shaven look. Ahead of the FP1 session in Imola, he decided to change his look by rocking a mustache and slick-back hair.

In a video clip floating on the team's social media account, Carlos Sainz revealed that with his new look, he was paying homage to his trainer, who has helped him in his recovery from appendicitis this season. He said:

"Pierluigi style, it's his home race so we decided to do a little homage."

In his pre-race press conference, Carlos Sainz pointed out that he could 'not complain' being a Ferrari driver ahead of the race in Imola in front of the Tifosi, saying:

"Yeah, it cannot get any better. Yeah, Ferrari driver in Imola, with hopefully a bit of a step coming in the car this weekend. Life's good. I can't complain."

Carlos Sainz previews the Imola Grand Prix this weekend

Carlos Sainz stated that despite Ferrari bringing a major upgrade to Imola this weekend, their performance and progress this year would be track-dependent.

He told the media:

"I still think it's going to be track-dependent. I think in Miami, it was a better-suited track for our car, and we had a really good pace, even though McLaren and Red Bull, maybe they were half a step in front. Our car felt back to normal, while in China, particularly, it felt really not good."

The Spaniard was hopeful that the Imola track would suit the SF-24 and the Tifosi's support could lift the team this weekend, adding:

"So I think we're going to be very track-dependent and hopefully Imola is one of those good tracks for us and we can put on a good show in front of the crowd. This would be an ideal scenario."

"For the rest, we're going to need to keep developing for tracks like China because there are certain types of corners where our car really struggles right now and we need to keep moving forward in that sense."

It would be fascinating to see if Ferrari and Carlos Sainz could challenge Red Bull and Max Verstappen once again in a heavily upgraded car this weekend. The Italian team would do their best to reward their fans and get the maximum amount of points possible.