F1 News, Reports and Race Results

Where did Sainz's 'smooth operator' tagline come from?

Carlos Sainz started calling himself a "smooth operator" last summer, but why exactly did the Spaniard choose the title of the famous Sade song as his tagline?

It all started at this year's Hungarian Grand Prix, when a productive P5 finish at the Hungaroring incited Sainz to belt out a few notes from Sade's hit over the radio on his cool-down lap.

From there on, the mania took off, much to Sainz's complete surprise.

"I just started hearing it on the radio, and apparently it is quite a bit famous song," Sainz told Motorsport.com.

"After the race I sang this song, without knowing what a smooth operator was. Then people in the team started telling me what was a smooth operator.

"And then I realised, well, maybe I can attribute myself that and start creating a bit of a joke around me.

"But uh, I didn’t sing it because I considered myself a smooth operator, because I didn’t know what a Smooth Operator was."

Judging by his fans' comments on Youtube, the moniker was well chosen.

And Sainz has looked through the YouTube comments regarding his “smooth operator” persona.

"Yeah, very funny that," he said.

"I went through them, and there are some really funny comments, like this comment: "we are here because of Carlos". And you see 1000 likes!"

Gallery: The beautiful wives and girlfriends of F1 drivers

Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter

Michael Delaney

Recent Posts

Ferrari's Sainz 'not satisfied with where we are' in Vegas

It was a solid start to the Las Vegas weekend for Ferrari with Carlos Sainz…

57 mins ago

Norris labels McLaren long-run pace ‘shocking’ in chilly Vegas

Lando Norris didn’t hold back in his assessment of McLaren’s performance on the opening day…

2 hours ago

Hamilton delighted with ‘consistently strong day’ in Vegas

Lewis Hamilton was particularly happy with his opening day of running at the Las Vegas…

3 hours ago

Verstappen stuck with 'draggy' rear wing for Vegas

Red Bull fears that its prospects for this weekend's Las Vegas Grand Prix - which…

4 hours ago

Ferrari and Mercedes admit to plank changes based on FIA’s TD

Ferrari and Mercedes have both modified their car’s floor element in Las Vegas to comply…

5 hours ago

Las Vegas GP: Hamilton continues on top in second practice

Lewis Hamilton put Mercedes on top of the timesheets for the second time in Las…

6 hours ago