The final week of the Dakar Rally 2026 gets underway: Carlos Sainz sends a heartfelt message to his father as he fights for victory with Ford.
In Saudi Arabia, the Dakar Rally is entering its most decisive phase, and Carlos Sainz has sent a warm and emotional message to his father, who is currently competing at the wheel of a Ford Raptor T1+. After his victory in 2024 with the Audi e-tron, the Spanish rally legend is once again fully involved in the fight for overall success, this time with M-Sport. Just over ten minutes separate him from the current leader of the general classification, Nasser Al-Attiyah, with six stages still to be completed before the winner of the most famous rally raid in the world is decided.
From Formula 1 circuits to the vast desert dunes, the Sainz family lives and breathes motorsport. While Carlos Sainz Jr is preparing for his winter commitments with Williams, on the eve of one of the biggest technical revolutions in recent Formula 1 history, Carlos Sainz Sr is battling through the sands of Saudi Arabia. The Spaniard, already a four-time Dakar winner with Volkswagen (2010), Peugeot (2018), Mini (2020) and Audi (2024), is targeting yet another triumph this year, this time with Ford.
The Madrid-born driver is part of Ford’s official factory line-up, alongside Nani Roma, Mattias Ekström and Mitch Guthrie. After the seventh stage, he sits comfortably in fifth place overall, behind Hank Lategan in the Toyota Hilux, his two team-mates Roma and Ekström, and the overall leader, rally legend Nasser Al-Attiyah, who this year is competing for the Dacia works team together with Sébastien Loeb.
Sainz to his father: “I know you will give it everything”
Carlos Sainz Sr currently trails by 10 minutes and 26 seconds, a relatively small gap in the context of such a long and demanding rally raid. A stage win is still missing from his tally, but the Spaniard will have several more opportunities to leave his mark on this edition of the Dakar.
In the meantime, a message of encouragement has arrived from his son, now a Williams driver in Formula 1: “You’re doing well, good luck to both you and Lucas [Cruz, co-driver, ed.], keep doing what you’re doing. An important week is coming up, but I’m sure you’ll give it everything. Flat out, Dad! Give it everything to win!”
The bond between the two generations of Sainz highlights a family that lives and breathes motorsport. As the Dakar enters its “crunch time,” the support from the F1 paddock provides an extra boost for the veteran driver. For the elder Sainz, winning with Ford would not only be a personal milestone but also a testament to his incredible longevity in one of the world’s most demanding sports. With the gap to Al-Attiyah still manageable, the final stages in Saudi Arabia promise to be a classic showdown between two of the greatest off-road drivers in history.
Leave a Reply