"I'm so fast that when I turn off the light I get into bed before the whole room is dark." The phrase is attributed to Ali, probably the most charismatic boxing champion in history. Speed and boxing, Formula 1 and boxing... Increasingly, this sport is being used to prepare for other sports, to be more athletic and in F1 they are also using it. For example Carlos Sainz. The Madrid native trains at the Reebok Sports Club gym in La Finca in Pozuelo de Alarcón, where there is also a ring for boxing training.

The Renault driver told us in Barcelona how you are using it and why in their physical preparation: "This year I'm a couple of kilos lighter because of pure discipline, not because of performance. The truth is that when I train I like to have a diet to feel more athletic, more athletic, a little boxing has influenced me to prepare more shoulders, neck, trapezius and from there now to go around and that the neck is also adapting to the car".

With boxing you get many things besides strengthening neck and shoulders, being an aerobic exercise you burn about 800 calories per hour, the cardiovascular system is activated and thanks to the resistance there is less feeling of tiredness, muscle flexibility is improved and, above all, reflexes are activated, besides being a very useful sport to release the tension of everyday life.

Carlos also starts many mornings very early in the sauna he has at home with his bicycle, something he has accompanied his father in his Dakar preparation. "He has been a spectacular example for me, watching him at home waking up and getting ready for it. We're a match made in heaven, but he's always taken the lead in that regard. My father taught me to wake up early in the morning and do sports, he warns. Everything, boxing too, to stay in shape and hit hard in Formula 1...