Why Real Madrid's official social media accounts sent message to Ferrari F1 star Carlos Sainz's dad

This week saw Carlos Sainz Sr - father of Scuderia Ferrari F1 driver Carlos Sainz Jr - win the Dakar Rally for a fourth time. The 61-year-old won the famous endurance race in Saudi Arabia driving an electric Audi, a historic achievement. On Friday morning, Real Madrid's official social media accounts congratulated Sainz Sr on his victory.

In a message published on X - formerly Twitter - Real Madrid said: "Congratulations on winning your fourth Dakar Rally,@CSainz_oficial! It's an honour for our club that a Madridista like you, a Real Madrid honorary member, continues to make history, while adding to your legendary status. You are one of the greatest champions. Congratulations!"

Carlos Sainz Sr is a massive Real Madrid fan, but his connection with the club runs deeper than that. Before moving into motorsport he played football, and Los Blancos offered him a trial during the 1970s. Decades later, when Florentino Perez resigned as Real Madrid president and his successor Fernando Martin did the same months afterwards, Sainz Sr unsuccessfully ran for the position of vice-president.

With Audi stepping down from the Dakar Rally, it's unclear whether Sainz Sr will return to defend his title next year. In the meantime, he'll be paying close attention to Real Madrid's La Liga title bid; Carlo Ancelotti's side are currently second in the table, one point behind leaders Girona but seven ahead of arch-rivals Barcelona. As for Sainz Jr, he'll be looking ahead to the new season of F1 with his team, Ferrari, with the first race of the 2024 campaign due to start in Bahrain on March 2.