Early career (1980–1988)
Sainz began rallying in 1980. In 1981 he won his first Rally Championship in the inaugural season of the 'Copa Panda' one-make rally series launched by SEAT and addressed to young drivers aiming to come close to the motorsport experience.[10][11] After being invited to compete against other pilots also winners of competitions with the Spanish brand, he became in 1982 SEAT's official pilot behind the wheel of a Group 2 SEAT Panda rally car participating in Spanish Championship Rallies.[12]
Sainz finished runner-up in the Spanish Rally Championship in 1986, in a Group B Renault 5 Turbo, and won it with a Ford Sierra RS Cosworth in 1987 and 1988.[13]
Ford gave Sainz his first World Rally championship appearances during the 1987 season. He finished seventh in the Tour de Corse and eighth on the RAC Rally. He remained with Ford for the following season, now co-driven by Luis Moya, who remained his regular co-driver for the next fifteen years. He finished fifth twice, in the Tour de Corse and the Rallye Sanremo, and seventh on an icy RAC Rally.
Ford were an increasingly minor player in the World Rally Championship, with the rear-wheel-drive Sierra uncompetitive against the four-wheel-drive cars, and struggled to retain ambitious and talented young drivers such as Sainz and his teammate in 1988, Didier Auriol. Both departed the team for 1989; Auriol to Lancia and Sainz to Toyota Team Europe, the Japanese marque's rallying arm operating in Cologne, Germany.
Toyota (1989–1992)
Despite all previous rallying Toyota Celicas having only ever looked a competitive prospect on highly specialized endurance rallies such as the Safari Rally, the new combination of Toyota and Sainz rapidly rose in competitiveness. In the 1989 season, Sainz started with four retirements but then finished on the podium in three rallies in a row. His teammate, by then two-time world champion Juha Kankkunen, also gave the Celica GT-Four ST165 its debut win at the inaugural Rally Australia. Sainz would almost certainly have won his first World Championship Rally on the final event of the season, the RAC Rally, but for mechanical failure in the final stages, which relegated him to second.
In the 1990 season, Sainz drove his GT-Four to victory at the Acropolis Rally, at the Rally New Zealand, at the 1000 Lakes Rally, as the first non-Nordic driver, and at the RAC Rally, claiming his first world drivers' title, ahead of Lancia's Didier Auriol and Kankkunen, ending the Italian marque's domination of the drivers' world championship since the advent of the Group A era of the sport in 1987.
In, Sainz narrowly failed to defend his title against a resurgent Lancia-mounted Kankkunen, his efforts capped by a dramatic roll of his Celica in Australia which left him in a neckbrace. Both Sainz and Kankkunen took five wins, the first time in the history of the WRC that two drivers had managed such a win tally during one season.
Lancia (1993)
Despite winning the world title, Sainz left Toyota at the end of 1992, mainly because for the 1993 season the team was to be sponsored by Castrol, a rival to Sainz's personal sponsor, Repsol. Sainz therefore moved to the private but Lancia-backed Jolly Club. Lancia had won the manufacturers' championship for the previous six years, but the Delta was an ageing design and technical developments during the season were minor, despite assurances given to Sainz that development would continue. The Delta lost ground to newer cars, and became less and less competitive as 1993 wore on. Sainz's only podium finish was his second place at the Acropolis Rally. He finished second on the San Remo Rally, but he and his teammate were later disqualified for using illegal fuel.[14] He finished eighth in the drivers' championship, which was won by Toyota driver Juha Kankkunen. Lancia withdrew from the sport altogether at the end of the season.
Subaru (1994–1995)
Sainz then chose to drive for the then fledgling Subaru World Rally Team in, where he replaced Ari Vatanen. Sainz's experience, perfectionism and abilities as a development driver played a vital role in developing the then-new Impreza to the point where it could mount a sustained challenge to Toyota and Ford. Indeed, in the hands of Sainz and Colin McRae the Subarus were frequently faster than the Fords during the season. Toyota won the manufacturers' title, but the drivers' championship was only settled on the final round, with Didier Auriol winning ahead of Sainz. In the 1995 season, he won the Monte Carlo Rally, the Rally Portugal and the Rally Catalunya. At this latter event he was trailing his teammate Colin McRae until the team ordered the Scotsman to slow down and allow Sainz to win, which led to a dispute between the drivers. Nevertheless, they were tied for the lead in the drivers' world championship going into the season-ending RAC Rally. McRae won his home event 36 seconds ahead of Sainz, despite losing time with mechanical difficulties that at one stage had put him two minutes behind. Subaru secured their first manufacturers' title with a triple win as the team's second young Briton, Richard Burns, finished third. Sainz was later to join McRae at both Ford and Citroën.
Return to Ford (1996–1997)
Sainz was supposed to return to Toyota for 1996 season, however the Toyota Team Europe was banned for the season following the cheating scandal surrounding the Celica's turbo restrictor.[15] Instead Sainz decided to join the factory Ford, bringing the Repsol sponsorship with him. He spent two seasons with the squad, aboard the Ford Escort RS Cosworth and later, the Escort World Rally Car. In 1996, he won the inaugural Rally Indonesia and with five other podium finishes to his name, he took third place in the drivers' world championship, behind Mitsubishi's Tommi Mäkinen and Subaru's McRae. In the 1997 season, he again won the Indonesian round, along with the Acropolis Rally, but again lost the title fight to Mäkinen and McRae. However, he won the Race of Champions at the end of 1997.
Return to Toyota (1998–1999)
Sainz then departed, once again, for Toyota, partnering Didier Auriol and helping to further the Corolla World Rally Car project that had been instituted in 1997, as part of the Cologne based team's recovery from the embarrassment of exclusion from the world championship on the penultimate round of the 1995 season.
Sainz won on his first outing for them, on the 1998 season opener Monte Carlo Rally, and later in the season, added a victory in New Zealand. The seemingly terminal blow to title rival Tommi Mäkinen's chances was his retirement on the first day of the final event of the year, the Rally Great Britain, which gave the initiative to Sainz, who now only had to finish fourth in order to ensure the title. However, just 300 m from the finish of the last stage, he too was forced to retire from the needed fourth place with a mechanical problem. As a result, both Sainz and Toyota gifted their respective titles to rivals Mäkinen and Mitsubishi Ralliart.[16]
A subdued season followed for Sainz in 1999, although it did at least culminate in a departing manufacturers' title for Toyota, by now fostering alternative interests in Formula One. Sainz took a total of eight podiums, but no wins, and finished fifth in the drivers' standings, behind his third-placed teammate Auriol who had taken his only win of the season at the inaugural China Rally.
Second return to Ford (2000–2002)
This was the precursor of another, three-year stint with Ford, again alongside McRae, beginning with the 2000 season. Sainz won the inaugural edition of the Cyprus round of the world championship, and finished third in the drivers' points standings.
Sainz failed to score a victory on any rally during the 2001 season, but with five podiums and four other point-scoring finishes, he managed to keep himself in the title fight throughout the very closely contested season, eventually finishing sixth in the standings, only eleven points adrift of the champion, Subaru's Richard Burns. Meanwhile, teammate McRae took three wins and led the championship before the season-ending Rally GB, where McRae crashed out. Ford also lost the manufacturer's title to Peugeot.
In, Sainz inherited the victory of the Rally Argentina, having provisionally finished third, due to the disqualifications of the two leading Peugeots of Marcus Grönholm and Burns. This was his only win of the season, and in a close fight for second place in the drivers' championship, behind the dominant Grönholm, Sainz finished third, one point ahead of his teammate McRae.
Citroën (2003–2005)
Effectively frozen out along with McRae at Ford, Sainz along with the Scot moved to Citroën for the, during which he scored one win in Turkey – which was the first gravel event win for Citroën Xsara WRC – and finished third in the championship. Sainz continued with the team in the season, and scored his final world rally victory at the 2004 Rally Argentina. During the Rally Catalonia 2004, after announcing his retirement, Sainz was considered by drivers, codrivers and directors of the official teams, as the best rally driver of history.[17] In the championship, Sainz finished fourth, after missing out the final rally in Australia, due an accident during pre-event recce.[18]
Despite formally retiring at the end of the 2004 season, with a possible view to moving into the World Touring Car Championship, Sainz was invited back to the WRC fold on the request of Citroën, to replace the faltering Belgian driver François Duval. Although Duval was soon to reclaim his seat, Sainz's two rallies back in the Citroën impressed many, with the now 43-year-old Spaniard posting fourth and third finishing positions respectively.
Later career in rally raid
In 2006, Sainz was at the wheel of a Volkswagen in that year's Dakar Rally, sharing the cockpit with the two times winner of the Dakar Rally, Andreas Schulz. In 2007, he repeated his attempt with Volkswagen, this time with French Michel Perin, also a former winner of the raid. Following the resignation of Fernando Martin, he even ran, eventually in vain, for the vice-president position at his beloved football club Real Madrid, for which he once trained. In 2007 Sainz won the FIA Cross-Country Rally World Cup with the Volkswagen team. In 2008, he won the Central Europe Rally, which was the relocated and rescheduled Dakar Rally for that year because of a terrorist attack.[19] In January 2009, partnering again with Perin, he led the Dakar Rally until crashing out on the 12th stage.[20] Later in 2009, Sainz won Silk Way Rally with Volkswagen team.[21] At the 2010 Dakar Rally, Sainz changed again co-pilot, teaming with fellow Spaniard Lucas Cruz. Sainz edged out teammate
Volkswagen's WRC project
As Volkswagen Motorsport announced its WRC entry for 2013, Sainz was announced to be part of the WRC project. Volkswagen's motorsport director Kris Nissen told that he needed "10 seconds" to convince Sainz to remain part of the company's efforts in the new programme. Nissen told that the team would need Sainz for some testing of the new car.[40] In November 2011, Sainz had the honour to drive first kilometres with the new Volkswagen Polo R WRC near Trier, Germany, when the team began testing the new car.[41] In late 2011, Nissen also revealed he would like to see Sainz taking part in some rally with the WRC Polo before he calls time on his career.[42] In early 2012 Sainz drove the Polo WRC in its maiden gravel test in Spain with Sébastien Ogier[43] and in summer he tested the Polo WRC in Finland.[44] In October Sainz re-joined his old co-driver Luis Moya to perform course car duties on the
