Carlos Sainz and Lucas Cruz

Carlos Sainz is the ‘grand seigneur’ of international rallying. The Spaniard has been active at the wheel for over 40 years. Sainz has won the Dakar Rally three times, is a two-time World Rally champion and also won the World Cup of cross-country rallies once.

Carlos Sainz was a champion even before he won his first title on four wheels. “In 1979, I became the first Spanish champion in squash,” he notes. “If there is one sport that’s good for motorsport athletes, it’s squash: you have to be very fit, have fast reflexes, good coordination, good all-round vision and be quick in your thinking.” He still swings a racket regularly today. Sainz also enjoys playing tennis and golf very much and very well.

However, Sainz celebrated his greatest successes in the car: he became World Rally Champion in 1990 and 1992. In 2005, he switched to cross-country rallying; his greatest successes were the Dakar Rally victories in 2010, 2018 and 2020.

Carlos Sainz has worked and won for many car manufacturers. “But, being part of Audi today really means a lot to me,” he says. Carlos Sainz is 59 years old. Asked about this, he grins and says: “I’m still hungry.”

At the 2022 Dakar Rally, Sainz and co-driver Lucas Cruz made history on the third stage of the 2022 Dakar Rally: the first Dakar stage victory for the Audi RS Q e-tron¹ – the first for a T1 Ultimate category vehicle with an alternative drivetrain². Sainz and Cruz went on to take two stage wins during the 44th edition of the event, increasing Sainz’s total to 41 stage victories.

Lucas Cruz has won the Dakar Rally as a co-driver three times so far. Each time, the Spaniard worked alongside Carlos Sainz. The Spanish duo has been contesting cross-country rallies together for twelve years now.

For Lucas Cruz, understanding and trust are crucial to the success of a driver and co-driver in cross-country rallies. “There is always high tension in the cockpit at these marathons, because just a small mistake by either of us can lead to major damage,” explains Lucas Cruz.

“Working with Carlos is a pleasure.” At least for Lucas Cruz, since he took over the job of navigator alongside Sainz in mid-2009. “Carlos is more of a friend than a colleague to me,” says Cruz. He compares their relationship, which has grown over so many years, to that of an old married couple: “You usually know exactly what’s going on in the other person’s head at any given moment.”

The two met in 1994, when Carlos was in charge of a project to promote young Spanish rally drivers. “I was one of the participants,” Lucas Cruz reports. It was the time when ‘El Matador’ was one of the leading drivers in the World Rally Championship.