Carlos Sainz pays Alpine a visit in hilarious Baku FP1 botch

During what proved to be an eventful FP1 session at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Carlos Sainz provided the feel-good moment down at Alpine.

On his way into the pit lane, Sainz initially thought he had stopped in the Williams pit box, and switched the engine off. He was soon told that he had actually parked down at Alpine, surrounded by confused mechanics.

Carlos Sainz stops by at Alpine to say hello

A large chunk of track time was lost for the drivers during FP1 as debris triggered the red flags. It had not been deposited by a Formula 1 car, but rather came from the kerb out of the final corner.

The delay proved ideal for McLaren’s Drivers’ Championship leader Oscar Piastri, who had been forced back to the garage with a Mercedes power unit issue. Lewis Hamilton meanwhile whacked the inside wall at Turn 5 in an eventful session.

There was also an occurrence in the pit lane, as Sainz accidentally stopped in the Alpine pit box, raising some smiles. It sparked flashbacks to Malaysia 2013, when Hamilton – in his first season with Mercedes – accidentally stopped in the pit box of former team McLaren.

not carlos getting confused and pitting at the alpine garage

the mechanis look so confused pls 😭😭 pic.twitter.com/SjZhZApJPE

— ari (@itsnotme_ari) September 19, 2025

A former driver for the Enstone squad in their Renault days, the blue which adorns both the Alpine and Williams team kits had Sainz fooled in that moment.

“Box, engine off,” came the call to Sainz from race engineer Gaëtan Jego as he entered the pit lane.

As Sainz pulled into the pit box, the same call came, only Sainz had come to a halt down at Alpine, triggering a sea of confused faces among the Alpine mechanics.

“Okay, you’re at the Alpine box,” Sainz was informed by Jego a few seconds later.

Carlos Sainz ans Alex Albon head-to-head in 2025

👉 F1 2025: Head-to-head qualifying statistics between team-mates

👉 F1 2025: Head-to-head race statistics between team-mates

Asked to try “fire up the engine again”, Sainz was successful, and made his way a couple of garages down the road, where his Williams crew were waiting. Sainz ended the FP1 session eighth, three places and two-tenths back from teammate Alex Albon.

Sainz spent a season and a bit with the Renault team which became Alpine. He raced in yellow, as it was then, between 2017-18, having broken into Formula 1 as part of Toro Rosso.

After subsequent stints with McLaren and Ferrari, Sainz made his way to Williams in 2025 as a four-time grand prix winner.

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