Spanish Formula 1 driver Carlos Sainz Jr has celebrated a breakthrough racing season by purchasing his first car.
While many people buy something readily affordable for their first vehicular purchase, Sainz went pedal-to-the-metal with a range-topping Ferrari.
The British Grand Prix winner treated himself to a V12-powered Ferrari 812 Competizione, one of the most exclusive cars on the road.
Built in limited numbers for loyal collectors, the rare coupe has an official price of €499,000 (NZ$838,000) plus taxes, on-road costs and optional extras. Some owners lucky enough to be invited to buy the car have listed their machines online for as much as $3 million.
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Sainz published a video on YouTube detailing the day he collected his car: “I’m so excited to show you my first road car. This Ferrari 812 Competizione is like a dream come true,” he said.
“It is the most beautiful car I have seen in my life, the one that has appealed to me the most because of its design.”
Many F1 drivers own high-end supercars. Lewis Hamilton has reportedly ordered a Mercedes-AMG One hypercar, Max Verstappen prefers Porsches and Lando Norris has designed his own McLaren Artura with blue paint and loads of carbon fibre.
But until now, Sainz has been driving a humble Volkswagen provided as a gift by his parents: “[The Ferrari] is the first car I’m buying,” he said.
“I’ve been in Formula 1 for nine years, and as an own car I have the one my parents bought me when I was 18 years old, which is a Golf.”
Ferrari’s Tailor Made department gave Sainz’ supercar a handful of custom touches, including carbon fibre sills decorated with his nickname, “Smooth Operator”.
The racer’s first car announcement attracted more than one million likes on Instagram, along with attention from sports stars such as Real Madrid footballer Luka Modrić.
Fans congratulated the Spaniard on his new purchase, suggesting it was a “bit of an upgrade from the Golf”.
-news.com.au