Watch: Carlos Sainz takes the covers off his stunning tailor-made Ferrari 812 Competizione

Carlos Sainz has taken ownership of his first Ferrari with the keys of a customised Ferrari 812 Competizione.

For those of you with a driving licence, there will have come a time when you thought about buying your first car. Maybe it was a hand-me-down from a parent or an older sibling, maybe it was a second-hand piece of junk that was somehow still running from the local garage or maybe you saved up for months on end just to get the car of your dreams.

Whatever it was, we are guessing it did not cost north of £500k and was not a Ferrari.

Well that is the reality for Sainz as he has purchased a customised Ferrari 812 Competizione to replace the VW Golf he has been driving.

The Spaniard is the subject of a popular internet video from a few years back with F1 drivers being asked what car they have in their garage back at home and while the other answers were Porsche, Mercedes and Ferrari, the then Toro Rosso man said he was getting from A to B in a Golf bought by his parents.

But the trusty VW has been retired as Sainz has now got the keys to the all grey 812 Competizione.

The process has been two years in the making with Sainz first visiting the Ferrari garage in 2021, the same year he joined the team, and picked out the V12 812 as his car of choice.

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He described it as “the most beautiful car I have seen in my life” and one that looked different from the average Ferrari but the Spaniard was not happy to just drive the one off the forecourt.

It was a long process of customisation with Sainz choosing everything from seat covers to the colour of the bodywork and took over a year to get ready.

In January 2023, Sainz posted a video on his YouTube channel of him seeing his creation for the first time.

Lifting the red cover off his new toy, choosing to do so from the back as he said that was his favourite part, Sainz seemed in awe at what the Italian outfit had created, saying it looked “awesome” and struggling to comprehend it was his.

But if he were ever to pull up next to a matching car, there was certainly one feature that signalled it out as his for as Sainz opened the door, he pointed downwards to show the words “Smooth Operator” written on it. The interior customisation did not step there with the number 55, Sainz’s number in F1, etched into the floor mats in the distinctive Ferrari red.

A very happy Sainz drove out of the garage and gave the car a test on the streets of Maranello.

You can watch the full video posted to Sainz’s YoutTube channel below: