Inside Carlos Sainz’s F1 Training Camp: Karting Chaos, Cycling Tours and Chess

Why Formula 1 drivers travelled to Langkawi

Several members of the Formula 1 grid took an unusual break before the 2026 Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia, travelling to Langkawi for what Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz described as a boys’ holiday training camp.

The Williams drivers first revealed plans for the trip while speaking on the Fan Stage at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. Albon initially suggested that a group of drivers would spend a few days together between the Malaysian and Singapore races.

“We’re going to go on like a boys’ trip, I guess,” Albon said on the Fan Stage. “I think there are a few drivers where we’re going to hang out.”

“It’s going to be [a boys’ trip],” team mate Sainz then added. “We just realised no one’s bringing their girlfriend. But it’s not like we’re going to do anything exciting. We’re going to be in a resort in the middle of nowhere.”

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The trip ultimately took place before the championship’s return to the Sepang International Circuit. Locals later shared videos of the drivers at a nearby karting track, confirming that the group had travelled to the Malaysian archipelago.

Which F1 drivers attended the Langkawi trip?

Alongside Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz, the group included Mercedes driver George Russell, Haas driver Ollie Bearman, Oscar Piastri, Gabriel Bortoleto and former Formula 1 driver Roberto Merhi. Reigning World Champion Lando Norris also met up with the group, although he did not take part in the karting session.

Sainz said the getaway came together almost spontaneously as several drivers tried to arrange travel from Azerbaijan to Malaysia. Rather than flying directly to Kuala Lumpur, he suggested that the group visit a resort on an island.

“It was a combination,” he explained in Thursday’s print media session in Sepang, ahead of the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia. “I think I saw that there were drivers trying to get on a flight to Malaysia from Baku on Saturday night, and rather than flying straight to Kuala Lumpur, I offered, ‘Why don’t we go somewhere else?’“I found a hotel on an island to spend four or five days that looked really nice, with good cycling and a good gym. I said, ‘Why don’t we, instead of all flying to Kuala Lumpur for four days, which is more of a city and has less planned for us at least, fly to this nice resort?’

“We all jumped on that plane on Saturday night and flew straight from Baku to Langkawi. No one has probably ever flown from Baku to Langkawi. It’s the most random flight ever.”

Langkawi is an archipelago off Malaysia’s northwest coast. The drivers used the island setting to see the local sights, spend time on boats and prepare physically for the demanding conditions expected in Malaysia and Singapore.

For Sainz, the trip also provided rare time away from the circuit with the drivers he competes against throughout the Formula 1 season.

“Normally on race weekends, we never see each other,” he explained. “I never see all the guys that I got to spend time with because we all have our own commitments, so very rarely do you actually get to spend some proper time with them.“The island we went to was quite fun because it was a small island and you put seven drivers on an island and see what they end up doing. It was a bit of a social experiment, for sure. Those four days, I would say, were interesting.

“I personally got to meet a lot more characters and some drivers that I didn’t know. I got to see their story, where they came from, how they ended up being the way they are, and why, and got to bond with them and understand them a bit better.

“For me, it was a very cool experience. I think we all left there quite happy with how it went.”

What happened during the F1 drivers’ karting session?

The karting outing quickly became the most competitive part of the Langkawi trip. The drivers selected their own names and photographed themselves for their karting profiles. George Russell later shared the images on social media.

Russell raced as ‘G Dawg’, Alex Albon chose ‘Albino’, Carlos Sainz used his Formula 1 race number ‘55’ and Oscar Piastri entered as ‘OP’.

“It was wild,” the most recent F1 race winner stated. “Firstly I got helped out by the Malaysians… I went over to one of the guys like, ‘What is the best kart?’ and he put new tyres on, so I had this kart that was like 1.5 seconds quicker than everyone else and they were kicking off!

“It was carnage, but I thought it would be. Bortoleto ended up with bruises on his back, Piastri almost broke a rib, it was like a banger race! I actually pitted before the end because I was like, ‘I am going to break something here’, so I actually don’t know who won.

“Bearman put Merhi through a wall on the first lap of the race and then it was like, ‘Who else could hit someone else off the hardest?’”

Lando Norris skipped the karting and instead trained and relaxed with a game of chess on the beachfront.

“Everyone else went karting, but I did a bit of training and stayed in,” he said in Thursday’s print media session. “From what I heard, I certainly don’t think it made anyone treat each other any nicer. I think it made it even worse. From what I heard, everyone put each other in a wall at some point.”

Was the Langkawi getaway also an F1 training camp?

Although the drivers had time to unwind, the trip also included serious preparation for two physically demanding races in Malaysia and Singapore. Ollie Bearman said he treated the stay as a training camp because of the unique climate facing the drivers in both locations.

“It was a good training camp, to be honest, and I’m working hard to prepare for this race,” Bearman said when asked about the trip during the pre-race press conference.

“You know, it’s a very unique climate that we have here and of course next week in Singapore as well.

“It was very fun to spend a bit of time with some of the guys outside of the circuit, and that’s also quite rare to be able to do that, and unlock a kind of a new side of all of the people that I was spending time with.

“I very much enjoyed myself, and it’s also nice to have a bit of a reset. A few days off, in a way, but also I’ve been training quite hard.”

Piastri also described the trip as a rare chance for the drivers to switch off together away from the pressures of a race weekend.

“It was pretty last minute, but it was good fun being able to switch off from racing a bit,” he said. “It’s very rare that you get so many drivers actually spending time together away from a racetrack.

“At the end of the day, we’re 22 guys that love racing. Obviously, it’s a bit tricky to talk about certain things because we are racing each other, but we’ve got a lot in common that we just never really get to talk about. So it was quite nice.

“We all did our own separate things at points. It wasn’t like we were glued to each other the whole time. Maybe on the go-kart track we were! It was good fun, honestly.”

Can F1 drivers remain friends when they race?

The Langkawi trip gave the drivers an opportunity to see different sides of one another, but Lando Norris said the friendship did not necessarily change their behaviour once they returned to the racetrack.

“I think people are able to separate personal life and personal time from when you’re putting a helmet on,” he explained. “I think you become two different people. You are two different versions of yourself.

“So it’s nice that you get to spend a little bit of time with them outside of racing. I knew all of these guys pretty well already, but at the same time, they all went karting and I thought, ‘This is a bit of time when I don’t have to spend time with them.’ It’s nice to have a bit of time to myself and do my own thing. That’s what I enjoy a lot in my life.

“I don’t agree with that kind of statement that racing is more friendly. I think at times it’s the opposite of that. But it’s nice that we get to just be normal people away from the track, have a bit of downtime and get to see maybe a different side of people. That’s a good thing as well.”

Could the Langkawi trip appear on Drive to Survive?

More footage of the F1 drivers’ Langkawi getaway could emerge through upcoming Formula 1-related productions. In a photograph shared by George Russell, Lando Norris appeared to be carrying a camcorder for his recently announced Amazon Prime documentary.

Several camera operators and a boom-microphone operator were also visible behind Norris. Their presence was reminiscent of the crews filming Netflix’s Drive to Survive, with production continuing on Season 9 of the series.

Why This Matters

The Langkawi trip highlighted the unusual balance Formula 1 drivers must maintain between intense competition, physical preparation and personal downtime. Malaysia and Singapore present demanding climate conditions, making training important, while the drivers’ schedules leave limited opportunities to build relationships away from race weekends.

The getaway also showed that spending time together away from the circuit does not remove the competitive instincts that define the F1 grid. The karting session became a highly physical contest, even as the drivers used the wider trip to reset before the next races.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where did the F1 drivers go for their holiday training camp?

Alex Albon, Carlos Sainz, George Russell, Ollie Bearman, Oscar Piastri, Gabriel Bortoleto and Roberto Merhi travelled from Baku to Langkawi, an archipelago off Malaysia’s northwest coast.

Which drivers attended the Langkawi trip?

The main group included Albon, Sainz, Russell, Bearman, Piastri, Bortoleto and Merhi. Lando Norris also met up with them but skipped the karting session.

What activities did the drivers do in Langkawi?

The group went karting, trained, cycled, used the gym, went out on boats and played chess. The trip was also used as preparation for the physically demanding races in Malaysia and Singapore.