Relieved as a son, disappointed as a fan - Carlos Sainz candid on his dad's FIA withdraw

14:34, 26 Jun

Updated: 17:58, 26 Jun

byTim Kraaij

Carlos Sainz has admitted that he has mixed feelings after his father, Carlos Sainz Sr, pulled out of the race to become FIA president. The Williams driver stated that he is relieved as a son, but disappointed as a motorsport fan.

The Spaniard feels like his father could perform effectively in the role, as current FIA boss Mohammed Ben Sulayem's leadership style has been criticised by many figures in the paddock.

Carlos Sainz Sr. announced on Wednesday that he will not be running in the FIA presidential elections. Once seen as a strong contender against Mohammed Ben Sulayem, the Spaniard’s withdrawal leaves the Emirati as the sole candidate.

‘’As his son, no. As a motorsport fan, yes," Sainz stated when GPblog asked whether he was disappointed that his father would not become FIA president.

‘’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. letting it go and focusing on his own stuff."

The 'ideal' time was now, states Sainz

Sainz doesn’t expect his father to have an easy second chance in the future. "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 for eight years time, never say never, but right now, for sure, he is not interested anymore."

With those words, Sainz Jr. essentially underscores the core issue: the FIA needs to change. Drivers and teams have repeatedly voiced concerns about the FIA’s leadership under President Mohammed Ben Sulayem, and so far, little has improved.

Mohammed Ben Sulayem has been at the helm of the FIA since the end of 2021.

F1 drivers are unhappy with FIA boss Ben Sulayem

‘’I think there's no secret that 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. And even though the intentions might have been good sometimes, and the way FIA were trying to do things might have always been within the best spirit.

"I felt like drivers would always be a bit left out, and sometimes our opinions were not listened to enough. And there have been corrections, and we felt like there's been a good reaction to those corrections."

Despite Sainz's criticism, he still remains largely positive that there will be a positive change within the governing body. ‘’We made that clear in our statements. I now see a way forward, because this year has been largely very frustrating. Let's see if things improve with the FIA's press release today. It's a sign that they intend to provide more clarity.’’

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With the presidential election approaching, the timing of the press release appears somewhat political. ‘’I don't want to reply to that. You're putting me on the spot,’’ Sainz laughed off the question.

When asked further by the press, Carlos also expressed his concerns about the press release.

‘’As long as drivers and engineers, team members know that we can go racing, the reason why making it so public and making nothing out of it is maybe why you were asking that question, whether it was more politically related. But yeah, I mean, those steps are what it's written on that," concluded Sainz.

Sainz's Williams teammate, Alex Albon, was also full of criticism of the FIA on the Austrian Grand Prix media day. Find out what the Thai driver said by clicking here.