Carlos Sainz shared his thoughts on the possibility of his father, rally legend Carlos Sainz Sr, running for FIA president later this year.
FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem is approaching the end of his first term, having assumed office in late 2021. His presidency has been marked by controversies, high-profile departures, and strained relations with drivers and stakeholders. He is expected to seek re-election this December.
In recent weeks, Carlos Sainz Sr has emerged as a potential candidate in the upcoming FIA presidential election. The 63-year old has confirmed his interest in tossing his hat in the ring, admitting that he intends to evaluate whether a potential bid can garner enough support.
Unsurprisingly, the story generated buzz on media day ahead of the F1 Imola GP. Sainz Jr was asked to give his thoughts on the matter.
“Yeah, obviously we’ve been talking about it for a while now,” the Williams driver said in a print media session on Thursday.
Sainz Sr’s potential presidency bid supported by the paddock
“Interestingly enough, I think it’s something that didn’t actually come from him. A lot of people in the paddock were kind of putting it in his head and little by little he started considering it. And now he’s obviously thinking about it.
“I think the key is that he still hasn’t put together a team. But he’s considering it and depending on how he sees it, he will go for it or not. So, let’s see.”
Sainz joked about being “biased” in his assessment of Sainz Sr’s competence, but highlighted the rally champion’s impressive credentials, experience, and genuine commitment to motorsport.
“Honestly, speaking from the most objective position possible…
“[Sainz Sr] knows the roots of motorsport and go-karting, as he did four or five years of go-karting with me. He did four or five years of single-seaters with me knowing how tough, expensive, difficult is that ladder. He’s done ten years in Formula One with me.
“He’s done 40 years of rallying. He does a lot of mobility work in Spain with the Ponle Freno campaign. So, a guy that covers so many experiences in so many different areas of motorsport.
“Coming to the end of his career, obviously, in racing and trying to find a way to give back to motorsports, what motorsports has given to him, I think, is from the most objective position that I can find…obviously a very optimal candidate. Whether he will decide to do it or not, it’s completely up to him.
“But interestingly enough, as I said, it didn’t actually come from him. It came from a lot of people in the paddock, putting it in his ear and he’s starting [to think], ‘okay, maybe, yeah’. So, it’s actually not so much from him, but people coming to him and suggesting it.”
“He’s evaluating the whole thing”
The younger Sainz stated that he cannot offer any insight into his father’s thought process at the moment, but reiterated that the 63-year old is taking the matter seriously, doing research and familiarising himself with the process.
“I can just tell you that he’s considering it seriously,” Sainz said.
“He’s evaluating all the options, he’s now starting to think what individuals he would like to have in his team; he’s trying to understand how the elections work, how much convincing—how many people he needs to go and talk to. He’s evaluating the whole thing and trying to understand how everything works. It’s his thing now.
“I’m obviously very busy here with Williams doing my own thing. So, I’m leaving it to him in a way and he gives me an update of the situation every one or two weeks, how much progress he’s doing or what’s the situation. And he obviously wants my opinion, but not more than that.”
The 30-year-old believes his father could introduce a ‘back to basics’ approach for the FIA, which under its current leadership has been increasingly criticised.
“I think that’s the negative side of it, the politics. But I think that if there’s a guy that could remove politics from it, it could also be my dad because he sticks to common sense and very basic rules of going about life and things.
“And I think that’s why so many people went to him to push him maybe to potentially do it. There’s politics. He will probably not enjoy that part of the work, but he knows he’s part of it also and he will have to learn it.”
Concerns about a potential “conflict of interest”
Carlos Sainz Sr’s interest in running for FIA president sparked some concerns that his connection with his son—an active F1 driver—could present a conflict of interest. The Williams driver rejected the notion, stating that his father would simply step down and no longer be involved in his career should he run and potentially be successful.
“Very simply, because my dad and me, we would part ways. He will not be my manager anymore. I’m a 30-year-old Formula 1 driver that also has his manager and he’s my cousin. We would just simply stop and whoever knows my dad or knows me personally knows we would never do anything that would mean conflict of interest.
“Obviously he will be extremely careful. I will be extremely careful because the last thing that I want is my or his image or career to be damaged by that situation.
“So if anything, we would do the opposite effect. I don’t see any conflict of interest. The moment you personally know my dad or you personally know me, we are honest people. I would never, ever compromise that situation in motorsport.”
Carlos Sainz Sr looking to “give back to the FIA”
Asked whether Sainz Sr is prepared to deal with potential criticism that may come his way, the Spaniard assured that his father is not easily fazed.
“He seems more up for it in a way where he has a thicker enough skin to deal with it. […] My dad is just nonstop.
“He loves motorsport. He loves racing. And he sees an opportunity to put an end to his racing career but still do something, still actively find ways to give back to motorsport and give back to the FIA—an entity that he has a lot of respect for all his years. He knows what the FIA has done over the last 20, 30 years to improve safety in motorsport, to improve everyone’s life here in motorsport. So he feels like he could give back and that motivates him.
“In general, his only target is to improve the well-being of the Federation and improve the well-being of motorsport.”
