Carlos Sainz's Race-Day Wellness Routine: Skincare, Stretching, and Silence
Vogue
In this short Vogue video, Formula 1 driver Carlos Sainz walks through a morning wellness routine step by step. Most of it is skincare and grooming, much of it shaped by long hours outdoors cycling and playing golf. Along the way, Sainz addresses what they call one of the biggest misconceptions about motorsport, explains why silence matters to them, and argues that men shouldn't be shy about taking care of themselves.
Starting Out: A Candle and a Wake-Up Call
Sainz begins by lighting a candle ("Why not?"). They explain that they would normally wash their face in the shower, but for the video they use a water spray and a cleanser.
Sainz traces their interest in self-care to a few moments in their life. The first was spotting a white hair at about 26 or 27, which prompted the thought, "Oh, I'm old." While cleansing, Sainz admits to not being gentle. They describe having "hands from the gym," with a lot of calluses, and say they like doing it "tough" without knowing why.
Serum for Sun-Exposed Skin
The next step is a L'Oréal serum. Sainz says they use it especially in hot, summer conditions, when their skin feels dehydrated. They spend many hours cycling and playing golf in the sun, especially in summer, and believe their skin would "take a toll" without this step. Noting a tan from the summer, Sainz stresses the need to keep the skin hydrated at that time of year.
Eye Masks: A Trend Picked Up on Planes
Eye masks are not a daily step. Sainz says they started using them after noticing how many people wear them on planes, sometimes for an entire flight, which they find "a bit weird" and "a bit funny." They admit to falling into the trend and kept using the masks because they started seeing a difference.
Beyond Skincare: Water, Supplements, and Mobility
Sainz's morning also includes non-skincare habits. They drink a glass of water first thing after waking up, then take their supplements with water. After that comes a mobility routine. Sainz says they always feel very tight on waking and see the morning as the best time to stretch and get the day started.
Moisturizer and Dry Patches
The next step is usually a hydrating cream, which Sainz has been using more recently. They have been getting dry patches around their mustache. They wonder whether stress is the cause but say it could just be the weather. Either way, they need to be careful, especially when shaving a lot, which they say they have been doing lately "even if it doesn't look like it."
The Misconception: F1 Drivers Aren't Just Sitting Down
Midway through, Sainz turns to what they consider one of the biggest misconceptions about motorsport: the idea that you don't need to be fit to drive a Formula 1 car.
Sainz says drivers need to be very fit. By their account:
- Races last around an hour and a half.
- Drivers burn roughly 1,500 calories in that time.
- The effort is comparable to running a half marathon every Sunday.
Beyond cardiovascular fitness, Sainz says drivers need strong necks, upper bodies, cores, and glutes to withstand the G-forces of an F1 car. They want to correct the impression that drivers are "just sitting down driving" without doing much.
Sunscreen, and a Lesson From the Golf Course
Back in the routine, Sainz calls sunscreen fundamental whenever it will be sunny or hot. Their own skin shows why: they are peeling a bit, possibly because they didn't apply as much sunscreen as they should have while playing golf a few days earlier. They then apply body moisturizer to the peeling areas, which they attribute to sun damage from cycling and golfing. This isn't a daily step, just something they use when needed.
Silence as a Way Into the Zone
Asked what gets them into their zone, Sainz says simply being alone with their thoughts. They really enjoy silence, perhaps because they rarely hear it at work.
For Sainz, silence is a chance to talk honestly to oneself about what is bothering you, what you could do better, and where you are falling short. They stress that this should be constructive. Being too harsh on yourself isn't positive, and the aim should always be to find a solution. Sainz describes liking to be self-critical while also building a plan to become a better person, athlete, brother, boyfriend, and son.
Finishing Touches: Aftershave and a Comb
Aftershave is Sainz's last regular step. They believe "a gentleman" should always smell good, and that a good aftershave is fundamental for that.
There is one more, occasional step: combing their hair. Sainz reserves it for occasions like a red carpet, such as their appearance at Cannes a few months earlier, when the watch and suit go on. On other days they prefer styling with their hands. After combing for the camera, they remark that it looks "a bit too organized" for their taste.
Closing Message: Drop the Stigma
Sainz ends by acknowledging a stigma around men's grooming that can make some men uncomfortable. In their experience, though, pretty much every man does it nowadays. Their advice is not to be shy about it and to share it. The video closes with Sainz trying a scent they like ("That smells very good, this one") and a reminder to take care of yourself.
Hey world, it's Carlos and I'm going to walk you through my morning wellness routine. My first step, lighting a candle. Why not?
When I take care of my face, somebody will always be a shower. In this case, for the purpose of this video, I'm going to use some spray, some water. I'm going to go with this.
I started realizing that I was starting to take care of myself. I had a few moments in my life. One, the first time I saw a white hair in my hair, I was like, "Oh, I'm old." I think I was 26, 27 at the time.
As you see, I'm not very gentle. I like doing it tough and I don't know why. I'm not like gentle hands. I have hands from the gym. A lot of calluses, but I like doing it hard. I don't know why. Okay, wash it off. Okay, just dry my face with my hair.
Next step, we will go with the L'Oréal serum. I would definitely use this, especially in hot conditions, summer conditions. I feel like my skin gets dehydrated. I spend a lot of hours cycling in the sun, a lot of hours playing golf, especially in the summer. And I feel like if I don't do this, my skin will take a toll for sure. I'm a bit tan as you see from the summer and I now need to make sure I hydrate my skin, especially these months of the year.
Then we would have the eye masks. It's not something I do every day. Now, a lot of the planes, people are wearing them a lot when taking off. And it's a bit weird. It's a bit funny because you see a lot of people wearing them and I fell in the trend and since I started seeing a difference, I started using it, too.
Other things I want to or I like doing for wellness are my supplements every morning, glass of water every morning, first thing when I wake up. My supplements with water and then a mobility routine just to stretch my body. I always feel very tight after waking up and I feel like it's the best moment to mobilize it, stretch it, and get the day started.
Okay, yeah. This is what I mean, like you will randomly see people on airplanes now spending the whole flight with this on.
After this, normally for me it would go hydration cream, especially more recently. I don't know why. I think with stress I get a bit of dry patches in my mustache and my… I don't know if it's stress, I don't know if it's just the weather, but I need to be careful, especially when I shave a lot. Which recently I have been, even if it doesn't look like it.
One of the biggest misconceptions I think towards motorsport in general, I would say that you don't need to be fit to drive a Formula 1 car. You actually think we are. We need to be really fit. The races are around an hour and a half long, and for sure we're consuming around 1,500 calories in the hour and a half. So it's almost like a half marathon for people to understand. So every Sunday we're racing a half marathon.
We need to be cardiovascularly very fit. We need to have strong necks, strong upper body, strong core, glutes to sustain all the G-forces that a Formula 1 has. So I think that's one of the biggest things, that people think we're just sitting down driving without doing much.
And I would move on. If I'm going to be in the sun, if it's going to be hot, obviously everyone, you guys know, I know the sunscreen is fundamental. I'm having a bit of dry skin now also because I'm peeling a bit. Maybe I didn't put as much sunscreen as I should have the other day playing golf.
After sunscreen, just a bit of body moisturizer in the areas where you need it the most. I'm going to apply wherever I'm peeling a bit from the sun damage that I've got the other day cycling and golfing. So I don't do it every day, but whenever you need it.
What gets me into my zone is just being on my own thoughts. I really enjoy silence, maybe because I don't hear silence very often during my work. I think it's very important to talk to yourself in silence and be very honest about the things that are bothering you, things that you can do better, the things where you're not doing well enough, and be constructive about it. It is not a positive to be too harsh on yourself, but always to try and find a solution. I like being self-critical, but at the same time I like putting together a plan or a solution that is going to make me be a better person or a better athlete or a better brother, a better boyfriend, a better son.
My last touch will for sure be putting the aftershave on. I always believe in a gentleman smelling like a gentleman, always smelling good, and a good aftershave is always fundamental for that.
There is one last step, which is this. When you go to a red carpet, like I did a few months ago when I went to Cannes, when you put a nice watch on and the suit on, it is time to comb your hair. Again, I will not do it every day, but the days I do, for sure I would comb it. You can see now it looks a bit too organized to me, that's why I prefer with the hands.
For men nowadays, there's a stigma of grooming and taking care of yourself that maybe you don't feel very comfortable with, but I've realized that nowadays pretty much every man does it. Don't be shy about it, share it.
Now that we're done, I'm going to… Oh, nice. That smells very good, this one. Remember to take care of yourself. Thank you very much, folks. See you next time.
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