F1 drivers back a Sainz Sr. FIA presidency bid — but the incumbent doesn't want to leave
IMOLA, Italy — For months, there have been rumblings in the Formula One paddock that a credible, known-name candidate could run for the presidency of the sport's governing body.
The incumbent, FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem, is up for re-election at the end of the year. His first term started late in 2021 and has been controversial and turbulent. Only last month, FIA deputy president for sport Robert Reid resigned over what he called a 'crisis' at F1's governing body.
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Rumors that Susie Wolff, the managing director of F1 Academy, might stand against Ben Sulayem were ultimately unfounded and no more than F1 paddock chatter. Until last week, Ben Sulayem appeared completely unopposed.
But the emergence of Carlos Sainz Sr., a rallying legend and the father of Williams driver Carlos Sainz, as a possible candidate against Ben Sulayem had the F1 paddock talking throughout Thursday's media day ahead of the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix.
Sainz Sr. outlined his thoughts about going for the presidency in a trial balloon interview with Motorsport.com, where he said he's 'in the process of figuring out how much support I will get from the community of motorsport,' and if it is indeed the right time for such a step.
For several years, the thought of embarking on a run to become FIA president has been in the background for Sainz Sr. But in an election year, as more insiders throughout the motorsport world — not just in the F1 paddock — started to hear he was thinking of a run, the more encouragement he began to receive.
'A lot of people in the paddock were kind of putting it in his head, and little by little he started considering it,' Sainz Jr. told reporters on Thursday. 'Now he's obviously thinking about it.'
The timing of a potential run to become FIA president is perfect for Sainz Sr. At 63, he still races each year in the Dakar Rally. He has won this famous event four times, but is close to hanging up his helmet for good. A role such as FIA president would be perfect for him to stay involved in racing and keep giving back to motorsport — even if his wife is said to be less enthusiastic.
'It's like, 'come on, now that you are about to retire, give yourself a break or do something not so demanding as this!'' said Sainz Jr., quoting his mother. 'But my dad is just non-stop. He loves motorsport, he loves racing and he sees there's an opportunity to put an end to his racing career but still do something further and find ways to give back to motorsport.'
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Sainz Sr. has an impressive depth of experience from a life spent in motorsport. Besides his legendary success in rallying — he won the World Rally Championship in 1990 and 1992 — and subsequently in Dakar's rally-raid category, he also has experienced what it takes for a driver to climb through go-karting, junior formulae and F1 thanks to his involvement in his son's career. He also understands all the key issues at play throughout the FIA – an organization that stretches far beyond the natural spotlight that shines on F1.
Part of the FIA's remit focuses on mobility issues outside of motorsport, which includes road safety. Both Ben Sulayem and his predecessor, Jean Todt, placed a big focus on this through their tenures – something begun in-depth at the FIA by the late president before Todt, Max Mosley.
Sainz Sr. does have experience in this area through his advisory role for Ponle Freno, a group in Spain that improves road safety and reduces accident fatalities. He is also heavily involved in the Sainz family's karting centers in their hometown of Madrid, Spain. Combined with his wealth of motorsport competition experience, his candidacy would likely be strong and comprehensive. He is well-respected across the motorsport sphere as a decent family man.
Somewhat expectedly, Sainz Jr. is also confident there would be no conflict of interest concerns over an FIA presidential candidate being the father of an active F1 driver.
George Russell, Sainz Jr.'s fellow director of the Grand Prix Drivers' Association, which represents driver welfare (albeit without being a formally recognized union), claimed that because the FIA president traditionally works more in the background instead of being hands-on with day-to-day F1 issues, it would not be a problem. Russell also said the experience of helping his son through to F1 would only boost Sainz Sr.'s credentials should he choose to enter the presidential race.
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'If anything, I think it could only benefit the sport having Carlos (Jr.) with the inside knowledge of F1 from a driver's perspective and then Carlos Sr.'s knowledge from motorsport generally,' Russell said. 'It could be a brilliant recipe.'
Russell, who has regularly been critical about the FIA's recent handling of clamping down on driving 'misconduct' and swearing — a key Ben Sulayem policy that was subject to a U-turn this week — said that Sainz Sr. was 'an extremely respected individual within the whole motorsport industry,' hailing his experience.
'He of course would be a fantastic candidate, if that's what he wished to do,' Russell said. 'I was quite surprised when I saw it initially. But when you think about it properly, I think it makes a lot of sense.'
Russell was not alone in being receptive to the idea. Aston Martin driver Fernando Alonso has known the Sainz family since he was a young racer and is in regular contact with Sainz Sr. Alonso revealed he was on the phone with him about another matter only on Sunday.
'Obviously he has a lot of experience in motorsport. He knows a lot of people in motorsport as well,' Alonso said. 'He could be a fresh approach.'
Alonso added that Sainz would be 'a great candidate, because he knows what the sport needs from this side, which is what we like – the drivers' side.' The experience of being a driver is something that Ben Sulayem has regularly claimed to herald throughout his presidency. He is a 14-time winner of the Middle East Rally Championship.
Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton felt he could not say much about Sainz Sr. as he had only met him a couple of times, but said he'd had an 'amazing career' and is 'incredible at what he does, still to this day.' But when discussing the swearing climbdown in a separate answer, Hamilton said it 'seems a bit of a mess there (at the FIA) at the moment. There's lots of changes that are needed, for sure.'
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Reigning F1 world champion Max Verstappen was previously at loggerheads with Ben Sulayem over the swearing policy after he was sanctioned for cursing in a news conference last year. This resulted in Verstappen doing community service for the FIA in Rwanda ahead of the governing body's annual end-of-season prize-giving ceremony, helping a grassroots racing event.
Verstappen said that Sainz Sr. would be 'a great addition' to the list of candidates, and thinks Sainz Jr. would be 'professional enough' for no conflict of interest. Verstappen was Sainz Jr's first F1 teammate at what was then the Toro Rosso squad in 2015, where tensions existed between the two camps as they each strove for early career progress.
Asked if Sainz Sr. would be a better president than Ben Sulayem, Verstappen replied: 'You can fill that in yourself. It's stupid for me to comment on that here.'
But the truth is that no matter how much support Sainz Sr. may gain through the F1 paddock and the other motorsport categories, the votes to become president of the FIA are made by the national motorsport clubs, known as ASNs (National Sporting Authority), from countries across the world.
Ben Sulayem won the 2021 election with 61.62 percent of the votes, beating Todt's deputy, Graham Stoker. Ben Sulayem is understood to still have a lot of support from many ASNs despite the various issues that emerged during his time as president. If Sainz Sr. were to run, he'd need to work hard to overturn those votes.
There are also the complex hurdles Sainz Sr. — or any other candidate, for that matter — must overcome to even stand for FIA president. Before even being considered eligible, there is a requirement to secure support from a number of senior FIA officials from across the world. And according to BBC Sport, Ben Sulayem is also considering making further changes to the FIA statutes concerning the eligibility of potential candidates, including that there can be nothing in their records that 'calls into question their professional integrity.' This has been interpreted in some quarters as referencing Sainz's son's F1 berth.
All of these elements will be considerations for Sainz Sr. in the coming weeks as he mulls everything over. The first step is deciding whether or not he wants to commit to a bid. Then he must consider who would be part of his election team, as well as pushing to garner the required support to get on the ballot for December's vote. This will take place in Uzbekistan along with the FIA General Assembly and the 2025 prize-giving.
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Should Sainz Sr. commit to a run, it would be another intriguing political dynamic for F1 and wider motorsport this year, even if it would represent just the start of a very long road to the final vote in December.
But the early sentiment is that the presence of such a respected, experienced and well-regarded figure would be welcomed in the F1 paddock — particularly in the context of the ongoing questions being asked of the existing FIA leadership.
(Top Image: GIUSEPPE CACACE/AFP via Getty Images;)
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