I can recall what happened at pretty much every single Hungarian GP from my childhood, Carlos Sainz tells Telex

Amid the scorching Hungarian summer heat, Telex and a handful of Eastern European journalists sat down with Scuderia Ferrari HP Formula 1 drivers Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz to chat about childhood memories, sustainability, lengthy F1 seasons and pre-race rituals ahead of the 2024 Hungarian Grand Prix.

“I could tell you what happened pretty much every year,” Sainz told Telex when we asked the drivers if they have any childhood memories of watching the Hungarian GP. “I remember when Fernando [Alonso] won in 2003, that’s my first actual Formula 1 memory,” he added.

Alonso, Sainz’s childhood hero who is currently racing for Aston Martin, became the youngest race winner in F1 with that victory at the Hungaroring. His record was later broken by Sebastian Vettel in 2008 and subsequently by Max Verstappen in 2016.

Sitting in the Scuderia Ferrari HP motorhome in the Hungaroring paddock, Sainz recalled that he always watched the Hungarian GPs because it took place when he was already on summer holiday from school as a child. “We were back at home in Mallorca and it was always the Hungarian Grand Prix around this time and we would all watch it together,” the Spanish driver said.

Sainz also has a vivid memory of Felipe Massa’s accident in 2009, when the Brazilian Scuderia Ferrari driver suffered a serious head injury at the Hungaroring after getting struck by a suspension spring during qualifying. “I was watching it live on TV and I was obviously very shocked,” the Scuderia Ferrari HP driver said.

In contrast to Sainz, his teammate Charles Leclerc does not have many childhood memories of races at the Hungaroring. As the Monegasque driver revealed, he barely watched Formula 1 when he was younger because he spent all his weekends at the local karting track instead.

“Whenever I had two days free, I was going to the racing track with my father,” Leclerc said. “Sometimes I was watching the Monaco Grand Prix, obviously, living in Monaco, but most of the time, I was away for karting. So it’s not like I watched many Formula 1 races over my life,” the Scuderia Ferrari HP driver revealed.

Being pioneers in sustainability and living the dream

Although it’s still a year and a half away, there is already a lot of talk in the F1 paddock about the upcoming regulation changes. One of the most important changes for 2026 is that the engines will use 100% sustainable fuels.

Sainz said that he fully supports this regulation change. The Spanish driver believes that “Formula 1 always has to be a pioneer” in the automotive world.

He admitted that the regulation change will be a “huge challenge” for the teams and the fuel manufacturers. In the meantime, he highlighted the benefits that Scuderia Ferrari’s more than 70-year-long partnership with energy giant Shell can bring during such a major regulation change.

“It’s here where a strong collaboration and a strong partnership, like what Shell and Scuderia Ferrari have, is going to pay off, for sure, because that’s where you need the most experience,” Sainz said.

One thing that his teammate hopes will not change for 2026 is the length of the F1 season. “I think now we are in the sweet spot. I don’t think more races will add anything to Formula 1, if anything, I think it will be worse for the sport,” Leclerc said.

“For us drivers, it’s amazing. I mean I do what I’ve always dreamed of doing, which was to be a Formula 1 driver, and I live the dream life,” the Monegasque racer declared.

“On the other hand, there are also many, many people in the paddock who are travelling away from their families and don’t travel in the same conditions as we do. And for them it starts to be a lot already with 24 [races], so I wouldn’t go over 24,” he added, highlighting the issue of the F1 teams' overstretched personnel.

Speaking of racing around the world, Leclerc said that he loves Budapest, especially the food. He also revealed a slight downside of visiting the Hungarian capital, however. “The thing is that Formula 1 has grown so much in Hungary [in recent years] that for us now it’s quite difficult to go around the city normally,” the driver said.

He also talked about how he is trying to tackle the extreme heat during the Hungarian race weekend. “A cold bath before getting into the car to cool down the body as much as possible and to delay the body temperature rising as much as possible,” Leclerc said, revealing his pre-session ritual for the race weekend.

Speaking of Sunday’s race, Sainz didn’t want to get drawn into making predictions. “I think it’s very difficult for us to tell you exactly what’s going to happen this weekend because the field is so tight, that it’s almost impossible to know whether that last tenth is going to fall in our favour or against us,” the Spanish driver told Telex.