During the rally, the Spanish press continued to be plagued by the same question.Will this Dakar be Carlos Sainz’s last? Will “El Matador” end his successful professional career here? It’s not just the Spanish media. Internationally too. During the 17 days that MD was bivouac, many were curious about the future of the four-time Dakar champion.

but Only Carlos has the answer to one of the most difficult decisions you’ll ever have to make. Or maybe he just doesn’t have it yet and needs to repeat the ritual he’s been doing since 2020, when, as the pilot himself says, he was already harboring thoughts of retirement: look in the mirror when you get home and ask yourself a few questions.

The first is if you are still having fun in the car. The second is when there is competitiveness. Third, if you want to try it again.

For the past two weeks, those sent to Dakar have been able to only assess the possibilities of: Carlos Sainz, whether to retire or continue playing depends on sensation This is what happened when I spoke to a man from Madrid.

Carlos was always close to the press at the bivouac.because we understand the difficulty and daily effort of working in complex situations. I respect journalists and their efforts. However, what surprised me was the smiles that were bigger than usual, jokingly shown at the beginning, and the way they got along better than usual. after that, That joy comes and goes depending on what’s going on. Every day on the track.

Anyone who knows Carlos knows about the times he was involved in combat.changes dramatically. The same thing happens with his son in F1. He is so focused on his objective and so meticulous about everything that he gets into a bubble of competition, which causes him to go from smiling to not revealing his cards and responding cryptically and short.

It happened in several stages. In other scenes, he seemed closer, which gave me food for thought. It doesn’t help to read their gestures and know if it’s related to a potential decision. Because of this, MD waited until Carlos was no longer available to compete for the title and asked Sainz how he felt. And if Ford has good performance, a car that can compete at the top, and speed on the circuit, They tipped the balance towards the decision to continue for another year.

“I’ll evaluate it once the race is over. It’s not over yet. I want to focus on doing two good stages,” he said. But “El Matador” wanted to add an important nuance to his response. And when Carlos does something, it’s usually not by chance. He usually answers briefly. But this time he wanted a longer explanation.

“What’s clear is that the car is going well, it’s competitive and the team is at a good level. For now, the positives of this Dakar remain for me.”That we did a good job and that Nani (Roma) is fighting to win, that we are fighting to win the race… and the effort of not just me but the whole team, the engineers, the drivers, everyone, the mechanics, that’s what’s important.

The positives outweighed the negatives and I realized that I was riding a competitive machine. And even though Carlos has earned the right to say no at age 63, knowing he has a winning car makes it hard to let go..

“The truth is, it’s a very close race, with three brands, even four brands winning stages, and it’s a very great Dakar,” he continued. He highly praised the feeling of being back in contention for victory ahead of the complicated 10th stage.

“Obviously, it’s nice to be as veteran as I am, because I was in the fight until yesterday, so, well, it’s good. But it doesn’t give me any particular satisfaction. “I wanted to fight until the last day and fight that far, but the situation is what it is, what happened and nothing more.” Express.

That glow is still there. He still wants to win. And that’s what he regrets most. He had two days left to play for the crown and was unable to participate in the final battle. “Well, next year…”The newspaper told him. He complied with a smile and left for his trailer. He claims not to have thought about it. Just like when MD asked him if he would take advantage of the visit from America. ford ceo We discussed his future on the Dakar day off. “No, not at that time,” he said. Now consider continuing to accelerate in the last two stages. Next, look in the mirror and ask yourself your annual question. But there is one thing for which there is a clear answer. Was it fast and competitive? Yes. I have nothing more to add.