"No Stigma, No Shame": F1 Driver Carlos Sainz Talks Skincare, Off-Duty Grooming Essentials, and Race-Day Prep
Read our exclusive interview.
Sports fans need no introduction to Carlos Sainz, the Spanish-born Formula One (F1) driver who's currently on a multiyear contract with the Atlassian Williams F1 Team. He's made his mark both on and off the racetrack, managing an intense training schedule, competing in major grands prix, appearing in Netflix's wildly popular Drive to Survive docuseries, and being the subject of more than one viral video for his now-iconic "Smooth Operator" antics. If you know, you know.
As if that's not enough, Sainz is also a global brand ambassador for L'Oréal, primarily fronting the Elvive haircare range and the Men Expert skincare products. WWW had the unique opportunity to catch up with Sainz from the South of France, where he was attending the 79th annual Cannes Film Festival on behalf of the brand. Ahead, read our exclusive interview, in which Sainz opens up about his off-duty grooming essentials, prepping both physically and mentally for the high demands of race day, and breaking the outdated stigma associated with men's skincare and haircare.
Sainz connects via video call from Cannes. He's about to attend the iconic film festival, walking the red carpet in front of a thousand shuttering cameras. "It's my second time here," he tells me. "I got the first taste of it [last year] and got to meet a lot of the other L'Oréal Paris ambassadors. It was a blast. Now, second year in row, I think it's going to become more of a tradition."
I tell him he just might get used to the red carpet, and he laughs. "I don't think I'm ever going to be used to red carpets. It's maybe not my expertise, but little by little, I'm getting more comfortable with them," he says.
One thing's certain: He's already comfortable discussing his skincare routine. He is a L'Oréal brand ambassador, after all. His go-to product is a vitamin C serum, which helps prevent fatigue, whether that's from his F1 schedule or post-travel jet lag. "In the end, you need something to keep making you feel fresh," he says.
On the rare occasion that he's off duty, he enjoys three sports: golf, cycling, and padel (a racket sport that combines elements of tennis and squash). "It will be either golf and padel or cycling and golf or cycling and padel, so a combination of two, for sure," he says. "If it's warm and there's a lot of UV exposure, then I would use the SPF 50 to protect myself."
For more sophisticated environments, he relies on his favorite vitamin C serum and another grooming essential: L'Oréal Men Expert Barber Club Beard & Skin Oil ($19). "I think it gives you an extra better feel… an extra better touch of care," he says. "It depends on where I'm going or what I'm doing. There are obviously many other products I would use, but I would say [the vitamin C and the SPF 50] are the two main ones I use every day. I'd use other ones in specific instances."
He's just as willing to open up about his haircare routine. He uses L'Oréal Elvive Growth Booster, which is only available on the European market as of now. Luckily, there's an equally effective U.S. version—the Hyaluron Pure Oil Erasing Scalp Serum ($12). "In the end, that's the one that protects my hair and keeps it strong during all the hours that I spend sweating inside a helmet or cap," he says. "There are completely different environments and levels of humidity and heat in all the countries that I go to, so I feel like I'm protecting [my hair] when I use it in the morning and even in the evening when I come back from the track."
He credits L'Oréal with teaching him how important skincare and haircare are to self-care. "It's something that maybe I didn't used to do so much a few years ago, but L'Oréal has taught me how important it is. I'm starting to see how it makes a difference and how, by investing a bit of extra time in your own haircare or skincare, you can start to see a difference. I start to feel it myself," he says.
I can't help but wonder if he's shared any grooming advice or product recommendations with his friends. Apparently, this is a relevant subject. "It's quite funny because I suddenly realized, once I'm using it, who is using it also," he says. "Sometimes, I turn up to dinners with them, and suddenly, I realize they are a bit more moisturized, or they're a bit better looking, you know? Like fresher. I look at them and say, 'You're taking care of yourself. You're using products.' They admit it."
Sainz thinks it's a reflection of shifting cultural norms. He says, "I think that stigma of a man taking care of their own skin is starting to end. I speak openly about it. I have no stigma, no shame with admitting that I have [skin and hair] routines the same way that I have routines for my sport. It makes you feel better."
Skincare, haircare, and F1 are all built on routine, and Sainz is an expert in it. "I don't think people, especially with my sport, realize how much work there is in it—how many hours of simulator, how many hours of training, how many hours of people in the factory producing the cars and getting them to be on time and on point for the race," he says.
He spends an endless number of hours prepping for race day, but that doesn't mean it's easy when it finally arrives. "It's a long day," he says. "On race day, I wake up at 8 a.m. and go do my mobility, then do my shower and my routines. I go to the track, then I'll have two, three hours of engineering meetings. Then I'll get an hour for myself—that hour before the race starts. That's when I do my warm-up routines by myself, where I get into my mindset, into my own bubble. People leave me alone there, and I can just focus on getting ready to perform."
For Sainz, the time, effort, and dedication are worthwhile. In fact, it's often the difficulty itself, rather than the results, that makes him proud. "When the result comes, it instantly makes you feel like all of that is worth it and that you're worth it. Our result is not down to luck; it's because we've worked hard. [It's] the discipline, all the hard work that there is behind a result," he says.
Still, we all contain multitudes, and that goes for F1 drivers too. Sainz isn't all strict focus, effort, and perseverance. When he's off the track, he's more laid-back than people might think. "I think people maybe don't see how silly I am," he says. "I can be very, very silly with my nephews or my sisters. On TV, I come across quite serious, quite focused … very in a square, you know. Once I get home and I'm with my loved ones, I think they get to see a completely different version of what they see on TV. It's true now with my social media channels—YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, etc.—the fans have seen that silly Carlos. I think they like seeing it because they sometimes don't expect it. But yeah, there's definitely a lot more of that than what you see on TV."
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