Every driver has their quirks. Sebastian Vettel raced with coins in his socks. Mark Webber always climbed into the car from the same side. And Carlos Sainz? He had his lucky cap — until Fernando Alonso launched it into a crowd of fans.
Yes, really.
Rewind to 2015. Sainz was just getting started in F1, debuting with Toro Rosso alongside fellow rookie Max Verstappen. While Verstappen was breaking age records, Sainz rolled into his home race in Spain with a growing rep and a grey Red Bull cap that had been with him through every major milestone. He’d won the Formula Renault 3.5 title with it, and it had become his good-luck charm.
But during the pre-race parade at the Spanish Grand Prix, his childhood hero — and now friend — Fernando Alonso had other ideas. After running out of official giveaway hats, Alonso started tossing drivers’ personal caps into the crowd. First his own, then Roberto Mehri’s… and then Sainz’s.
“I was like, ‘No way, that is my cap!’” Sainz recalled. “I had been wearing it for two years. It meant a lot.”
At the time, Sainz was crushed. He figured the cap was gone forever. But a few days later, hope arrived through an unexpected source: Twitter. A fan who caught the hat reached out, and after a nearly 24-hour negotiation led by Sainz’s then-manager, the lucky cap found its way home.
The fan reportedly wanted an all-access paddock pass, which were in short supply, but somehow a deal was struck. Sainz got his cap back — and yes, he made sure it was the real one.
Did the hat’s magic wear off after that? Maybe. Sainz went on a tough run of retirements while Verstappen gained momentum and eventually landed a seat at Red Bull. Still, that silly cap toss became part of F1 folklore — a reminder that even in the ultra-serious world of Formula 1, superstition and spontaneity still have a place.
And hey, Carlos got his cap back. Some things really do have happy endings.
From Lucky Charm to Lost Treasure: How Alonso Launched Sainz’s Cap Into F1 History
