Carlos Sainz receives pitlane serenade as marshals sing Smooth Operator in Baku

Carlos Sainz was welcomed by marshals singing Smooth Operator ahead of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix

Williams Formula 1 driver Carlos Sainz was met with a crowd of marshals singing 'Smooth Operator' to him as he arrived at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix pitlane.

The Spanish driver arrived ahead of the race at the Baku City Circuit to a warm welcome from the marshals. He is set to start the race alongside four-time champion Max Verstappen on the front row after a chaotic qualifying session with six red flags.

Sainz has been associated with the 1984 Sade song since 2019, when he was driving with McLaren. He sang the song over team radio to his race engineer, Tom Stallard, and it quickly gained traction on social media.

"Just a song that kept coming up on the radio of the car [during] the British Grand Prix [weekend]," Sainz told the media when asked about the moment.

"I just started hearing it on the radio. And apparently it is quite a bit [of a] famous song."

As a result, Sainz was branded "Smooth Operator" and has since had his Ferrari Daytona SP3 customised with the script on the intakes, centre console and the door sill.

"After the race [at the Hungaroring] I sang this song, without knowing what a smooth operator was. Then people in the team started telling me what a smooth operator was," he added at the time.

Carlos Sainz, Williams

Photo by: Simon Galloway / LAT Images via Getty Images

"And then I realised, well, maybe I can attribute myself that and start creating a bit of a joke around me. But I didn't sing it because I considered myself a smooth operator, because I didn't know what a smooth operator was."

Sainz joined Williams at the start of 2025 after being replaced by seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton at Ferrari. After a tricky start to the year, Sainz secured his best start of the season with a P2 in Baku.

"Honestly, we've nailed the qualifying today," the 31-year-old driver explained. "Every time being on the right tyre at the right time and putting together some very strong laps.

"Obviously, the moment that a top car was going to put that up together, we were always going to be those four or five tenths behind like we are always. But it was only one of them, which was Max, not surprised. And for the rest, we managed to beat them. And yeah, we were in P2, which is great news."