Two-time World Rally Champion, Carlos Sainz Snr is considering standing for the FIA presidency later this year.
“This possibility has been in my mind for some time now,” the two-time World Rally Champion and four-time runner-up, told Motorsport.com, “not very deeply, but now I think it could be the right time in my career for me to take the step.
“I’m confident I can do a good job and put together an excellent team to give back to the sport part of what it has given me,” he added. “I have accumulated a lot of experience in this sport throughout the years and I’m certain I can bring new and interesting things, to strengthen and develop the sport and the automobile world.”
Over the Miami weekend, sharp-eyed viewers might have noticed Sainz visiting a number of team garages with F1 CEO, Stefano Domenicali. After the ‘difficulties’ experienced with the current FIA president, Mohammed ben Sulayem, Sainz would no doubt be a breath of fresh air for F1 bosses, the choice would no doubt be popular with drivers and team bosses also.
Asked about a possible conflict of interest in terms of the fact that his son drives for Williams, Sainz said: “I have my track record and people know me well enough to understand that this will not be an issue.
“Obviously, I will have to step down regarding my role with Carlos and his career,” he added, “but this is not an issue at all. He’s not a child any more, he has been in F1 for a decade now and we both know that if I go ahead with this project our relationship will change, of course. The FIA is a very serious entity and there will be no conflict.”
Elected in December 2021, just ahead of the controversial Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Ben Sulayem has proved to be just as controversial.
While it first it appeared that he was willing to defend the sport against the increasing influence of its American owners as time went on it became clear that he had his own agenda, in terms of stamping his own authority and beliefs on the sport.
While he eventually appeared to mellow his relationship with F1 bosses, his continued crackdown on drivers has led to the Grand Prix Drivers’ Associating questioning various aspects of his governance and even calling for a seat at the sport’s ‘high table’ recently.
Meanwhile there have been numerous hirings and firings at the FIA, with Robert Reid, the former deputy president for sport, claiming there has been “a fundamental breakdown in governance standards”, and former FIA chief executive officer Natalie Robyn describing “serious ongoing structural challenges” within the organisation.
Head of MotorsportUK, David Richards has threatened legal action after being excluded from a meeting of the World Motor Sport Council after he refused to sign a non-disclosure agreement, while the FIA is also subject to legal action by Susie Wolff, following a (subsequently abandoned) inquiry into a potential conflict of interest inquiry along with her husband.
Ben Sulayem has not officially said that he will stand for the presidency again but it is highly likely that he will, for in his eyes there is work still to be done.
Even though the Formula One World Championship is likely to be decided long before Abu Dhabi, fans may yet get another decent fight for supremacy in December.
