In 2012, Sainz raced in the British and European Formula 3 championships for Carlin. He raced for DAMS in the 2014 Formula Renault 3.5 season, winning the championship before moving to F1 with Toro Rosso. Sainz moved to McLaren for the 2019 season, while at the same time ending his contract with Red Bull Racing.
At the 2019 Brazilian Grand Prix Sainz took his maiden Formula One podium finish with third. Sainz moved to Ferrari at the end of the 2020 season.