Carlos Sainz Jnr says he will avoid any conflict of interest with his father if he runs for FIA president.
His 63-year-old father, two-times world rally champion Carlos Sainz, is reportedly considering a challenge to FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem in this year’s elections.“It’s a possibility: It’s not that he’s going to present himself for sure, or he’s going to go for a candidature, he’s just considering it,” the Williams driver told Sky. “To be honest, it also didn’t come much from him. It came from a lot of people in the paddock suggesting it to him and putting the idea in his head.
“He started considering it and he’s obviously going to evaluate his options and his candidature and his possibilities.”
In addition to his rally championship success, Sainz is also a four-times winner of the Dakar Rally. His son said his other experience makes him well-suited to running motor sport’s governing body.
“Being his son, being obviously a big fan of his, I think he fits very well the profile. I think no one understands motorsports better than my dad across so many ranges, from rallying to go-karting.
“He came with me to all the go-kart races, to all single seater ladders, to Formula 1 now. He has quite a broad experience about everything, including mobility with everything that he does in Spain.
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If he was elected, Sainz said they would make changes to avoid any accusations of a conflict of interest between them.
“My dad and me, we would part ways, he would not be my manager anymore,” he said. “I’m a 30-year-old Formula 1 driver that also has his manager and my cousin, and we would just simply stop.
“Whoever knows my dad or knows me personally knows we would never do anything that would mean a conflict of interest.”
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Addme (@dontme)
15th May 2025, 15:09
“Carlos Sainz Jnr says he will avoid any conflict of interest with his father if he runs for FIA president“
Sainz Jnr is also running for president! Exciting!
Yes (@come-on-kubica)
15th May 2025, 16:27
The name of the new FIA president says Carlos Sainz but it’s not senior!
Owen Smart (@smartez)
15th May 2025, 16:35
Frankly I don’t care – ANYTHING is better than the mess we have right now.
David BR (@david-br)
15th May 2025, 17:34
@smartez x10
Red Pill (@redpill)
16th May 2025, 8:57
@smartez x20
But do the ones who vote for FIA have the guts to vote against MBS and do what is right for motor racing?
S
16th May 2025, 9:35
That’s what people said when (multiple) previous presidents were running the show.
Ah well, at least you have optimism.
PeteB (@peteb)
15th May 2025, 16:50
I don’t see it being a conflict of interest – the FIA President doesn’t issue penalties so he wouldn’t really have a say in anything that directly affects his son.
I wouldn’t be surprised if MBS tries something to stop him from running though.
reggieboeing
15th May 2025, 17:18
^^^^^ This. 100%
Coventry Climax
15th May 2025, 18:50
That’s already going on.
Mentioned what, some 10 articles back? A roundup, I believe.
And in other media as well.
Alan Dove
15th May 2025, 19:23
If MBs had a son who entered F1 would you say the same thing?
Ideals (@ideals)
15th May 2025, 20:08
Nobody said anything when Nicholas Todt owned a whole team and managed several drivers in F1 and other FIA categories while Jean Todt was FIA President.
I don’t see how being related to a driver in F1 with no real power would suddenly be more objectionable.
Alan Dove
16th May 2025, 6:31
That doesn’t really answer my question. Yes, people did raise questions about Todt by the way.
But here we are talking a son in the FIA’s most prestigious series with the dad seemingly wanting to run for President. If MBS’s had a son who was looking at racing in F1 I am absolutely certain none of the ‘no conflict of interest’ would last 5 minutes.
anon
16th May 2025, 9:39
Alan Dove, it could be pointed out that MBS also has close family relations that are connected to Formula 1, so if you object to Carlos Sainz, you should also object to MBS.
MBS’s brother is the head of DP World, and DP World owns multiple companies that form a major part of General Motor’s supply chain. As an example, they own Syncreon, which is responsible for transporting parts and vehicle kits for GM’s factories overseas, and CFR Rinkens, which is responsible for exporting vehicles from GM’s Mexican operations into the US, and also to other international markets.
DP World is also responsible for the importation of Cadillac’s into the Middle Eastern market, which is an area that GM has been seeking to expand in recent years. Inside the world of motorsport, DP World also happens to be McLaren Racing’s supply chain partner.
If you believe that “we are talking a son in the FIA’s most prestigious series with the dad seemingly wanting to run for President”, then surely you should also be opposed to MBS wanting to remain President when his brother runs a business that receives significant amounts of business from GM, which the FIA recently gave approval to compete in “the FIA’s most prestigious series”, and already has financial ties with an existing competitor in the sport.
Red Pill (@redpill)
16th May 2025, 10:21
@anon
Good post, with interesting info and perspective. The web appears wider
Alan Dove
16th May 2025, 10:41
“If you believe that “we are talking a son in the FIA’s most prestigious series with the dad seemingly wanting to run for President”, then surely you should also be opposed to MBS wanting to remain President when his brother runs a business that receives significant amounts of business from GM, which the FIA recently gave approval to compete in “the FIA’s most prestigious series”, and already has financial ties with an existing competitor in the sport.”
If that’s a recognised legitimate concern, yeah, I would oppose it.
anon
16th May 2025, 20:53
Alan Dove, you were the one who wanted to make the complaints in the first place – so, do you have a problem with it?
Bullfrog (@bullfrog)
16th May 2025, 8:51
Big Carlos is an Audi man isn’t he?
Coventry Climax
15th May 2025, 18:53
Susie and Toto (the Wolves ;-)) run things like it’s a family business for quite some time now, so why can’t the Sainz-es?
Coventry Climax
15th May 2025, 18:54
At least – I think – they wouldn’t have their heads on the same pillow every night.
MichaelN
15th May 2025, 19:19
Are these the same people who have The Telegraph on speed dial? Sounds like Sainz is being pushed forward at the behest of the F1 elite. And of course many are lapping it up. Truth is, Sainz has no official candidacy, no program, no plan, no coalition, no proposed administration. Nothing but “He was in rallying”. Oh – and he’s European, which seems to matter a lot to some.
Red Pill (@redpill)
16th May 2025, 9:16
MichaeIN,
Sound like your trying to stir things up and get some negativity out there on a prospective candidate to challenge MBS . Truth is, Sainz has already commented that he’s very serious about running, but he is first having a good look into running and presently doing his due diligence about if its even feasible or not before going ahead; as Mohammed Ben Sulayem (MBS) has done a lot to make it unfeasible for someone to run against him.
Talk about sheer manipulation to a voting system for ones own gain, while the FIA becomes more broken with him making these changes for his own benefit and self preservation, at the expense of FIA and its members. How does this benefit the drivers, motorsport and safety, not to mention the core word in it’s name “Federation”?
More and more, it sounds like Mohammed Ben Sulayem needs to be removed from office for rigging the voting system to prevent fair voting the was stipulated in the FIA mandate before he changed it.
Alianora La Canta (@alianora-la-canta)
16th May 2025, 10:17
Did you know that all of the things you said “no” there take time to develop, and that most of them have declaring potential candidacy as a pre-requisite?
ryanoceros (@ryanoceros)
15th May 2025, 19:41
I doubt anyone would object. The desire to end this petty presidency is universal.
S
16th May 2025, 9:46
Nope. If it were decided that he shouldn’t be in that position, then he’d be gone already.
He’s still got the backing of enough important people that a handful of self-interested racing drivers and ‘fans’ don’t make any difference at all.
Remember, it’s all just a political game – same as governmental politics is. There’s plenty of dirt to throw around if that’s what is deemed helpful to certain parties. Of course, it’s always wise to remember that they have dirt to throw back.
Alianora La Canta (@alianora-la-canta)
16th May 2025, 10:21
S, that is false. There is a system to eject a president mid-presidency, but it requires specific grounds to call an Extraordinary General Meeting (that has only happened once in the FIA’s history, and that followed the then-president demonstrably breaching the law, in a manner many of the electorate considered immoral, reported on in a particularly salacious way – it’s hard to report on endangering participant safety, manipulation of a sporting contest and poor governance in a salacious way…). After that, one has to wait at least 7 weeks for the meeting to happen. Also, the Ethics Committee has to approve the Extraordinary General Meeting being called – which, since changes last year, means the FIA President has to approve a meeting specifically intended to arrange their removal.
An Sionnach
15th May 2025, 22:40
It would be best to avoid a conflict of interest or the appearance of one, so another candidate would be better…
…Johnny Herbert is a busy man, but he can always take another side job on!
…then, there’s Gunther Steiner. Netflix would be delighted.
…why not Ralph Schumacher? Those who would like him the least as president might change their minds if it would mean that Mick Schumacher would be banned from participating in all FIA series!
…tired of the omnipresence of Ben Sulayem? Kimi Räikkönen for president!
Red Pill (@redpill)
16th May 2025, 9:55
@An Sionnach,
All of those suggestions above could actually be better and more diverse than MBS. They’ve all been more successful in world motorsport racing than MBS, at least if you look beyond the local Middle East Rally Circuit (MERC). How about look at Mohammed Ben Sulayem’s race record in the World Rally Championship? Majority of his races were retirements/unsuccessful.
I get it, you were making a joke but makes you think about all the other choices out there to run the FIA that could be better, more diverse and should be looked at.
peter
15th May 2025, 23:05
Sainz sr for president is crazy, as would be any other father of any current driver.
Ferdi
16th May 2025, 7:00
It seems that less and less people in the world understand the concept of conflict of interest.
Alan Dove
16th May 2025, 7:18
Apparently it’s not a conflict if the parties involved say it’s not an issue. That seems to be the current theme.
An Sionnach
16th May 2025, 7:58
Conflict of interest: “bad, unless it’s me or I like them”.
Red Pill (@redpill)
16th May 2025, 9:37
Ferdi,
Can you help explain to us what conflict of interest is and the levels of degree of it ?
Would it not be a more serious conflict of interest when the current president in control alters the election process to make it much more advantages to himself at the expense of the FIA voting rights? This is something thats already happening as we speak, as opposed to some conjecture that Sainz has not even done. And then look back at previous FIA presidents and their closer relations to F1 that was more than Sainz.
Then consider the small amount of governing of F1 that the president does compared to the rest of his entire job of being FIA president overseeing world wide racing around the globe (big & small), safety, and another large factor: Road Safety.
And your issue is that his son is a successful F1 driver and a member of the FIA like most other drivers?
Lets take a vote on which conflict of interest is more serious and real?
Alianora La Canta (@alianora-la-canta)
16th May 2025, 10:27
Ferdi, it doesn’t help that the concept of “conflict of interest” is defined differently in different contexts. My last 3 employers to have such a concept all have/had different definitions of the term, and they were all large UK employers with international dealings relevant to the department I was in.
Obviously an organisation that is a different structure than those employers, primarily based in a different country, whose regulations by necessity must be compatible with multiple countries due to having headquarters in multiple countries, is also going to have a different definition of “conflict of interest”. (Bear in mind also that neither Sainz is from any of the countries involved in creating the FIA’s regulatory framework, and therefore may have a subtly different notion of “conflict of interest” in mind).