Carlos Sainz‘s third place in the Formula 1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix marked his and Williams’ best result of 2025, and it coincided with the arrival of a new mascot.
The Spaniard took a superb second place in qualifying in Baku, following it up with a third place in the race, marking his first podium since Abu Dhabi last year.
It was also the Grove-based squad’s first appearance on the rostrum since Belgium 2021, marking a significant milestone in what has been a promising year so far.
Sainz declared it was his first “smooth operation” for the team, a relief after having suffered a myriad of bad luck in his maiden season with the team.
And such a smooth operation was apparently aided by the presence of a mystical figure chosen as the 31-year-old’s mascot.
In last week’s pre-race edition of Williams’ in-house social media series ‘Call Carbono’, a young fan posed an important question to Sainz: what should she name her toy unicorn?
Whilst undecided between the choice of ‘Sparkles’ or ‘Sprinkles,’ Sainz did agree to her request of wearing a unicorn sticker on his helmet for the remainder of the season.
And with the unicorn adorning his lid in Baku, Sainz completed a momentous moment for the team by completing the podium alongside race-winner Max Verstappen and George Russell.
“You have a new mascot on the back of your helmet, Carlos?” Verstappen asked his former Toro Rosso stablemate in the cool down room after the race.
“It’s a unicorn!” he replied. “A fan sent us this, I said I would wear it this weekend,” which prompted Verstappen to urge Sainz: “You have to keep it now!”.
Team Principal James Vowles also noted the mascot’s appearance, saying on a video posted by Williams: “There’s one more thing that is actually quite special,”
“I’m pretty sure either Sparkles or Sprinkles had something to do with this as well at the same time. So, that’s staying, I assume, for a little while.”
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