Carlos Sainz Sr considering standing for FIA president

LONDON – Spaniard Carlos Sainz Sr, father of the namesake Williams Formula One driver, said he is considering running for president of the governing International Automobile Federation (FIA) in 2025.

The 63-year-old, a double world rally champion and four-time winner of the Dakar Rally who is still competing, told Motorsport.com on May 7 that he was assessing how much support he could count on.

Emirati Mohammed Ben Sulayem, also 63, has served since 2021 and is expected to seek a second term in December, and Sainz is the first potential challenger to break cover. The selection will occur in Tashkent, Uzbekistan on Dec 12.

“This possibility (of standing) has been in my mind for some time now, 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,” said Sainz.

“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.”

Ben Sulayem is a controversial figure who has had battles with teams and drivers in F1 and rallying, but he holds a strong hand in an election where geography and regional loyalties come into play.

Presidential candidates are also required to stand with a slate of potential office-holders put forward for the various roles.

Sainz said there would be no conflict of interest with his son, a director of the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association.

“Obviously, I will have to step down regarding my role with Carlos and his career but this is not an issue at all.

“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,” he said.

Sainz Jr finished ninth at the May 2-4 Miami Grand Prix, which suffered a major drop in television audience for the fourth edition of the South Florida event.

The race won by McLaren’s Oscar Piastri drew an average of 2.17 million viewers on ABC, according to Nielsen ratings. That represented around a 30 per cent drop from the 2024 edition, which set a record for F1 ratings on United States television with an average audience of 3.07 million.

The silver lining is that the numbers for May 4 were still up 7 per cent from the 2023 GP, and came without a live sporting event on ABC leading into the race. The 2024 race aired right after Game 7 of a first-round NBA play-off series.

However, this year’s Miami GP, which peaked with 2.4 million viewers, was seen as an important litmus test as ESPN mulls over whether to extend its F1 media rights deal expiring this season.

Two US-based races remain on the schedule, with a stop in Austin in October and the third year of the Las Vegas Grand Prix in November.

REUTERS, AFP