Sainz putting shutdown spare time to good use

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Carlos Sainz has revealed how he will ensure that all the extra spare time currently he has on his hands will be put to good use, by learning more about the technical foundations of the sport and the car that he drives.

"I had an idea recently that I would like to take an online engineering class with my engineer Tom Stallard," the McLaren driver told the official Formula1.com website this week.

"I would like to know a bit better how some parts of a Formula 1 car work a bit more specifically, a bit more technically.”

McLaren's Sainz 'a bit bored' in voluntary quarantine

While many drivers including Sebastian Vettel have been very interested in the technical side of F1, the demands of a packed world championship season rarely leave them with enough time to make a serious study of the subject outside of 'on the job' training on pit lane.

But Sainz is hoping that the current enforced shutdown of the sport in response to the global coronavirus pandemic has handed him the perfect if unexpected opportunity to do exactly that.

“I don't know how it would work online but I think it would work well," the 25-year-old Spanish star said. "At least it will keep me busy and I will use it as something to improve my understanding of a Formula 1 car.

But Sainz is also looking even further afield for some mental stimulation, and is hoping to tap into his famous father's talent for financial investment as well.

“I want to start understanding economics better, and the stock market," he said. "I’ve been having chats with my dad and the people who help him out with his investments."

It's not just mental stimulation that Sainz is seeking. Even under lockdown conditions in Spain, he's been trying his best to maintain his physical fitness in preparation for the resumption of the F1 season.

©McLaren

"I’m ‘Coach Carlos’!" he laughed, saying he had been working with his personal trainer to keep himself in top condition and pick up tips to pass on to the rest of his family.

"With the help of Rupert Manwaring, I’m trying to coach my family in some diets and training plans and keeping them motivated," he said.

"As you know, sports puts you in a good mood and gives endorphins, and I think it keeps us all happy and entertained.

“Also I did a full clean of my wardrobe!" he added. "[I've] tried to donate those clothes to some organisations or the church because I had an awful lot that I didn’t use.

Sainz has also agreed to jump into the Esports gaming arena, and will make his first appearance in the official Formula 1 Virtual Grand Prix series in tonight's Chinese event.

He'll be competing against fellow F1 stars Charles Leclerc, Alex Albon, Antonio Giovinazzi, George Russell and Nicholas Latifi, as well as Ferrari Driver Academy rising star Callum Ilott and F2 driver Juan Manuel Correa.

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Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.