Carlos Sainz Jr. breaks his silence as his father decides against competing for the position of the FIA president

Carlos Sainz has given his take on his father opting against fighting for the position of the FIA president, and he feels that, as a motorsport fan, the sport lost something. The Spanish racing legend turned heads earlier in 2025 when he announced his intention to take part in the elections.

His opposition was going to be the current FIA president, Mohammad Ben Sulayem, who has been at the helm since late 2021.

The governing body has been in the news for all the wrong reasons, as alarm bells have rung against the incumbent's decisions that could potentially lead to a concentration of power around him.

To add to this, some of the calls made by the governing body that involve a stricter policing of the speech and continued focus on what the drivers can and cannot say have also led to a lot of blowback.

Meanwhile, Carlos Sainz's father had announced his intention to partake in the elections for the FIA president. In the latest development, it seems that the Spaniard has changed his mind, as he stated in an official statement.

Carlos Sainz was questioned about the same during the pre-race press conference, and the Williams driver stated that, as a motorsport fan, this was a loss for the sport. He said:

“As his son, no. But as a motorsport fan, yes. Many motorsport people would have liked to see my dad give it a go, and see what he could do. But as his son, and after evaluating all the things he’d have to get involved in, I understand why he’s not doing it, and he’s letting it go.”

When questioned if his father would consider the role in the future, Sainz said:

“Never say never. I think the ideal time was now, given the state of the situation. It was the ideal time to go in and have a positive effect. I don’t know if it will be ideal in four or eight years. But never say never. But for now, he’s not interested.”

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Carlos Sainz doubles down on the growing discontent against the governing body for the driver

Carlos Sainz doubled down on the growing discontent against the governing body as he pointed out how things had not been transparent for some time now.

There have been question marks raised over stewarding and how the governing body has gone about things, and it has only gotten worse in 2025. He said:

"There is no secret that drivers have felt, over the past few years, that there is a lack of transparency in the main governance. Even though the intention might have been good, and the way that the FIA tried to do things was in the best spirit, the drivers were left out and our opinions weren’t listened to."

He added,

“There have sometimes been corrections, and a good reaction to those corrections, but at other times we haven’t felt that way. I can only see a way forward, to get better, because this year has certainly been frustrating for the most part."

With Carlos Sainz Sr. out of the running to be the FIA president, it does appear that the position is once again going to Mohammad Ben Sulayem.