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.
Sainz has been closely involved in his son’s career
“So he definitely hits the profile, but it’s going to be up to him whether he thinks he’s fit to consider to be a candidate or not.”
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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