Why Carlos Sainz Has a Unicorn on His Helmet in Baku

You might have spotted that Carlos Sainz sported a rather beautiful unicorn sticker on the back of his race helmet over the weekend in Baku.

But what’s the story? Who created it, why is Carlos carrying it, and was it the secret behind his podium success?

Thea asked Carbono whether her unicorn should be called Sparkles or Sprinkles – two very solid name choices, in our opinion.

She then floated the idea of whether they would put the unicorn on a helmet for an upcoming race. Whilst the name remains unchosen (Alex was team Sprinkles), Carlos came up with the deal.

If Thea sent in a drawing of her unicorn, he’d wear it. A man of his word, Carlos is running with Sparkles or Sprinkles the Unicorn this weekend – potentially becoming the fastest unicorn of all time in the process.

It’s safe to say the unicorn proved a lucky charm, with Carlos securing P2 in Qualifying before pushing on to a P3 finish on Grand Prix Sunday.

In doing so, Carlos – unicorn in tow – became the first Williams driver to stand on the rostrum in four years, and the first to do so in a full-length race since 2017.

The unicorn is certainly here to stay; in fact, a spare sticker even found its way onto the P3 trophy.