Carlos Sainz Sr decides not to stand for FIA president
FILE PHOTO: Formula One F1 - Saudi Arabian Grand Prix - Jeddah Corniche Circuit, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia - April 20, 2025 Carlos Sainz Sr., the father of Williams' Carlos Sainz Jr. after the race REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed/File Photo
LONDON - Mohammed Ben Sulayem's chances of being re-elected unopposed as president of motor racing's world governing body increased on Wednesday when Spaniard Carlos Sainz Sr said he would not be standing for the FIA top job.
The 63-year-old double world rally champion, four-times Dakar winner and father of the Williams Formula One driver of the same name, said in May he was considering running against the Emirati in the December election.
The decision not to go ahead will allow him to compete again in the Dakar Rally in Saudi Arabia with Ford next January, something he said he did not want to miss.
There is currently no other declared candidate beyond Ben Sulayem.
"Hi everyone. This message is to publicly confirm that I have finally decided not to run for the presidency of the FIA in this year's election," Sainz said on X.
"I have worked hard these past months to understand in depth the situation at the FIA and the demands and complexities that come with such an important project," he added.
"After a thoughtful reflection, I have come to the conclusion that the present circumstances are not ideal to set the grounds for my candidacy."
Sainz's son is a director of the Grand Prix Drivers' Association and the older Spaniard has dismissed suggestions there would be a conflict of interest if he was elected FIA president.
Sainz said his desire to serve and lead remained strong and he still believed the organisation needed to make some important changes, which he hoped would happen in years to come.
Ben Sulayem, who confirmed in May that he would be standing for a second term, is a controversial figure who has had battles with teams and drivers in Formula One and rallying.
He holds a strong hand in an election where regional loyalties come into play and recent statute changes have made it harder, according to critics, for potential rivals to stand against him.
Presidential candidates are also required to stand with a slate of potential office-holders put forward for the various roles. REUTERS
Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Straits Times
an hour ago
- Straits Times
Sixteen deaths recorded in Kenya protests, most killed by police, Amnesty Kenya says
A Kenyan man holding a spent bullet as firefighters battle to put out building fires in the central business district of Nairobi, Kenya, on June 25. PHOTO: EPA Sixteen deaths recorded in Kenya protests, most killed by police, Amnesty Kenya says NAIROBI - Sixteen people died during nationwide anti-government protests in Kenya on June 25, most of them killed by police, the head of Amnesty Kenya said, a year after deadly demonstrations against a tax Bill culminated in the storming of Parliament. Thousands of Kenyans took to the streets to commemorate 2024's demonstrations, in which more than 60 people died, with police firing tear gas and water cannons to disperse them in the capital Nairobi, according to local media and a Reuters witness. Some protesters clashed with police, and 16 people were 'verified dead as of 8.30', Amnesty Kenya's executive director, Mr Irungu Houghton, told Reuters, adding that the figures were verified by the global rights watchdog and the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR). 'Most were killed by police,' Mr Houghton said, adding that at least five of the victims had been shot dead. The government-funded KNCHR earlier said eight deaths had been reported across the country, all 'allegedly from gunshot wounds'. 'Over 400 casualties have been reported, including demonstrators, police officers and journalists,' KNCHR said, in a statement shared on its official X account. The watchdog noted heavy police deployment and 'allegations of excessive use of force, including rubber bullets, live ammunition and water cannons, resulting in numerous injuries'. Kenyan police spokesperson Muchiri Nyaga declined to comment on the statements by Amnesty Kenya or KNCHR. State-funded body Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) said in a statement at least 61 people were arrested during the protests. An official at the capital's main Kenyatta National Hospital said the facility had received dozens of wounded people. '107 admitted, most with gunshot injuries,' the source said, referring to rubber bullets and live rounds. He added that no deaths had been reported at KNH. National electricity provider Kenya Power said one of its security guards was shot dead while patrolling its headquarters in Nairobi. People running away from a police water cannon, amid protests in Nairobi, Kenya, on June 25. PHOTO: REUTERS Large crowds were seen earlier heading in the direction of State House, the president's official residence, in scenes broadcast by Kenyan channel NTV before it and another broadcaster KTN were pulled off the air after defying an order to stop live broadcasts of the demonstrations. Both channels resumed broadcasts later on June 25, after a court in Nairobi suspended the order issued by the Communications Authority of Kenya. Anger against police Isolated clashes were reported in the port city of Mombasa, according to NTV, with protests also in the towns of Kitengela, Kisii, Matuu and Nyeri. Although the 2024 protests faded after President William Ruto withdrew proposed tax hikes, public anger has remained over the use of excessive force by security agencies, with fresh demonstrations this month over the death of a blogger in police custody. Six people, including three police officers, were charged with murder on June 24 over the killing of 31-year-old blogger and teacher Albert Ojwang. All have pleaded not guilty. Mr Ojwang's death has become a lightning rod for Kenyans still mourning those who perished at the 2024 demonstrations, blamed on security forces, against a backdrop of dozens of unexplained disappearances. 'We are fighting for the rights of our fellow youths and Kenyans and the people who died since June 25... we want justice,' Mr Lumumba Harmony, a protester, told Reuters in Nairobi. The unprecedented scenes on June 25, 2024, showing police firing at protesters as they broke through barriers to enter Parliament, created the biggest crisis of Mr Ruto's presidency and sparked alarm among Kenya's international allies. REUTERS Firefighters battling to put out a blaze that is said to have started after teargas cannisters fired by police exploded, in Nairobi, on June 25. PHOTO: EPA Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
2 hours ago
- Straits Times
Spain's High Court upholds conviction of ex-soccer chief Luis Rubiales in kiss case
MADRID - Spain's High Court on June 25 upheld a verdict that found former soccer federation president Luis Rubiales guilty of sexual assault for an unsolicited kiss on the lips of national team player Jenni Hermoso at the 2023 World Cup in Sydney. The court rejected multiple appeals against the conviction, reaffirming Rubiales kissed Hermoso without her consent during the medal ceremony after Spain's women had won the trophy, according to the ruling seen by Reuters. Rubiales was fined over €10,000 (S$15,000) and acquitted of coercion charges alongside three co-defendants. Prosecutors had sought a two-and-a-half-year prison sentence and called for a retrial, both of which were dismissed. The incident sparked widespread debate about sexism in Spanish society and women's football, fuelling momentum for the 'Me Too' movement in the country. Rubiales argued that his actions were motivated by an uncontrollable joy, but the court ruled that his restraint with other players and attendees demonstrated he could have avoided such behaviour with Hermoso. 'Since that emotion did not lead him to express his joy so effusively by kissing the other players or the accompanying persons in the box, and he restrained himself, he could also have done so, without too much effort, with the captain of the team,' the court said. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
2 hours ago
- Straits Times
Returned deportee Abrego to be released without bail, but faces US immigration custody
People embrace on the day of the arraignment and detention hearing for Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the man wrongly deported from Maryland to El Salvador before being returned to the United States on migrant smuggling charges, in Nashville, Tennessee, U.S., June 13, 2025. REUTERS/Seth Herald A person holds a placard as people gather for the arraignment and detention hearing for Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the man wrongly deported from Maryland to El Salvador before being returned to the United States on migrant smuggling charges, in Nashville, Tennessee, U.S., June 13, 2025. REUTERS/Seth Herald FILE PHOTO: Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran migrant who lived in the U.S. legally with a work permit and was erroneously deported to El Salvador, is seen wearing a Chicago Bulls hat, in this handout image obtained by Reuters on April 9, 2025. Abrego Garcia Family/Handout via REUTERS THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. MANDATORY CREDIT./File Photo FILE PHOTO: Supporters gather for the arraignment and detention hearing for Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the man wrongly deported from Maryland to El Salvador before being returned to the United States on migrant smuggling charges, in Nashville, Tennessee, U.S., June 13, 2025. REUTERS/Seth Herald/File photo Returned deportee Abrego to be released without bail, but faces US immigration custody NASHVILLE, Tennessee - A U.S. judge said on Wednesday she would order the release of Kilmar Abrego, the migrant wrongly deported to El Salvador by President Donald Trump's administration only to be returned to the United States to face criminal charges, from pre-trial custody without posting bail but acknowledged he likely would be taken into immigration custody. Abrego wore an orange jail-issued t-shirt and a headset to listen to a Spanish interpreter translate the proceedings in the Nashville courtroom of U.S. Magistrate Judge Barbara Holmes. The judge ruled on Sunday that the administration could not continue to detain Abrego, 29, pending trial on two charges accusing him of conspiring with at least five other members of a smuggling ring to bring migrants to the United States illegally. Abrego, a Salvadoran national who had been living in Maryland, has pleaded not guilty. At Wednesday's hearing, Holmes said Abrego would also be required to seek employment while released, and limit his travel to the Nashville area and Maryland. The judge acknowledged, though, that the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, or ICE, was seeking to detain him for possible deportation, and that he would likely be placed into custody. "If Mr. Abrego is released from ICE custody for any reason, he is subject to these conditions immediately and expected to comply," Holmes said. Abrego was deported to El Salvador despite a 2019 judicial order barring such a move on the grounds that he could face persecution by gangs in his home country. The Trump administration has not indicated the country to which they may now seek to deport him. Abrego's case has become emblematic of the Republican president's aggressive immigration crackdown and the pushback from rights groups. His lawyers have called the charges an effort by the administration to justify its violation of Abrego's rights by wrongly deporting him. Holmes scheduled Wednesday's hearing after expressing skepticism toward the administration's allegations against Abrego including the credibility of cooperating witnesses. The judge's finding that the government had not shown that Abrego was dangerous amounted to a rebuke of Trump's assertion that Abrego is a "bad guy" with a "horrible past." "The court will give Abrego the due process that he is guaranteed," Holmes wrote. Abrego's wife, their young son, and her two children from another relationship are U.S. citizens and live in Maryland. He was deported on March 15 and was returned on June 6. U.S. officials had called his deportation an "administrative error" but initially said they would not bring him back. That raised concerns among Trump's critics that his administration was disregarding civil liberties and due process in its push to step up deportations. In a separate civil case, another judge is investigating whether administration officials violated her order, later upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court, to facilitate Abrego's return to the United States. The Justice Department ultimately brought Abrego back to face an indictment returned by a grand jury in Nashville charging him with plotting to bring migrants to the United States illegally and then transporting them from the U.S.-Mexico border to destinations in the country. According to the indictment, Abrego often picked up migrants in Houston, and made more than 100 trips between Texas and Maryland between 2016 and 2025. In urging Holmes to detain Abrego, prosecutors alleged that he sometimes transported minors and often brought his own young children on the trips to serve as a cover story. Holmes said she gave little weight to those assertions in part because they came from cooperating witnesses seeking reduced sentences in criminal cases or relief from deportation, including the leader of a human smuggling operation who has been deported five times and convicted of felonies twice. "Each cooperating witness upon whose statements the government's argument for detention rests stands to gain something," the judge wrote. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
