Sainz Sr led nearly the entirety of the 12-stage, two-week marathon in Saudi Arabia to score his fourth career victory in Dakar, cementing his position as one of the greatest rally drivers of all time.
Intriguingly, the Audi driver didn’t win a single stage on his 17th appearance in Dakar, with consistency, and not outright speed, helping him beat the likes of Sebastien Loeb, Nasser Al-Attiyah and own team-mates Mattias Ekstrom and Stephane Peterhansel.
Avoiding the kind of mechanical issues that beset his rivals, Sainz was also able to minimise the time loss during punctures and was 13 minutes clear of Prodrive rival Loeb when he stopped on Stage 11 after breaking the suspension of his Hunter.
Sainz Jr, who was the only non-Red Bull driver to win an F1 race in 2023, thinks the 61-year-old won the Dakar because his approach to the rally was smarter than his rivals.
After travelling to Saudi Arabia to celebrate victory in the bivouac at Yanbu, he said: "I asked him not to race [hard] every day because at the end of the day the Dakar is an endurance race and he likes to race a lot,” said the two-time grand prix winner.
“He had to race a lot to win, but he was smarter than anyone else and managed the race as only he knows how.
"The Dakar was perfect, he did the smartest Dakar I've ever seen him do in my life. He managed it perfectly and showed that he also has experience.”
He added: "2024 has started well, and now we have to continue like this for the Sainz family.
“You can't imagine the pride of a father, of a husband, of everything. Here are all his best friends, not just me, and there are all the people who love him and encourage him at every moment.”
Source: Autosport