Last week Ferrari tested their 2018 car for five days at Fiorano. Not only young drivers like Callum Ilott and Mick Schumacher got the chance to drive an F1 car and to accumulate mileage, but also new signing Carlos Sainz got a chance to drive around the test track.
For Carlos Sainz it was not only the first time with a Ferrari car on track, but also the first encounter with Ferrari fans, the famous tifosi.
After the session, the Spaniard, to the surprise of the fans present, stopped to have a chat with the spectators. Carlos explains: “There were two banners that I saw. It said ‘Vamos Carlos’ and ‘Smooth Operator’. So nice to see the people here in Italy and the tifosi already know my name and my preferences for certain names. That’s definitely a good start.”
“At the end of the day I had the opportunity to come and say hi, so I took the car and thanked them for coming and supporting me on this special day, to share a bit of passion too,” the Spaniard concludes.
In a Formula One era where the drivers are told what to do and what to say, where many barriers are put between these drivers and the public, it is refreshing to see that Carlos Sainz did not forget the importance of being in touch with the fans (especially the very demanding tifosi), and this gesture was really cool and surely very much appreciated.
