Carlos Sainz on father’s FIA presidency withdrawal disappointment: “The ideal time was now”

Carlos Sainz Sr.’s withdrawal from the FIA presidential race earlier this week didn’t come as much of a surprise. The two-time World Rally Champion and four-time Dakar winner had confirmed his interest in the role after enthusiasm from a number of individuals in the paddock, but alas, it wasn’t to be. 

Carlos Sainz Jr. was asked his thoughts on his father’s decision and whether he was disappointed to see him withdraw from the challenge.

“As his son, no. As a motorsport fan, yes,” the Williams driver admitted. “I think many motorsport people would have liked to see my dad giving it a go and seeing what he could have done for the sport.

“But as his son, and after evaluating a bit also with him, all the things he had to get involved with and have to take care of to confirm and to have any possibility of running for that presidency, I think I understand why he’s not doing it and why he’s letting it go and focusing on his own stuff.”

Carlos Sainz Sr. with Mohammed Ben Sulayem, President, FIA

Photo by: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images

The older Sainz has cited similar reasons in his statement released yesterday. 

“After a thoughtful reflection, I have come to the conclusion that the present circumstances are not ideal to set the grounds for my candidacy,” he wrote. “Furthermore, I have realised that properly running for President would notably compromise my preparation for the Dakar and I do not wish to weaken my commitment to Ford and my team. These concerns have therefore inclined me to be realistic and desist from my FIA endeavour for now.”

When pressed about the possibility of the Formula 1 driver’s father running in the future, Sainz Jr. was keen to leave the story open-ended.

“Never say never. I think the ideal time was now, given the state of the situation that everything is in. I think it was the ideal moment for him to go in and try to have a positive effect. I don’t know if that would be ideal in four or eight years’ time. I’d never say never, but right now for sure he’s not interested anymore.”

Sainz now faces the Austrian Grand Prix weekend, but with elder Sainz’s withdrawal, questions surrounding the governance of the FIA will continue, especially after the recent publishing of F1’s penalty guidelines this morning. With the governing body looking to improve “transparency” in the sport through this documentation, it looks more and more likely that Sulayem will continue in his role. 

“I think there’s no secret. Drivers… we’ve felt over the last few years that there’s been a bit of a lack of transparency and a lack of understanding with the main governance of the FIA,” said Sainz on Sulayem’s first term. “Even though the intentions might have been good sometimes and the way the FIA were trying to do things might have always been within the best spirit, I felt like drivers… we’ve always been a bit left out and sometimes our opinions were not listened to enough.

“There’s sometimes been corrections and we felt like there’s been a good reaction to those corrections, but clearly other times we haven’t felt that way and we’ve made it very clear with our statements. I can only see a way forward and getting better because this year has certainly been frustrating for the most part. Let’s see if it improves and maybe today’s press release from the FIA is already a sign of the intentions of making everything a bit more clear.”