Could 9 (GMM) As he confirms a possible run for FIA president, Carlos Sainz senior has backed his son’s resolution to have joined Williams this yr.
30-year-old Sainz was enraged in Miami after being overtaken by his teammate Alex Albon – regardless of being reassured that Albon had been informed to carry station.
“That’s not how I am going racing,” Sainz mentioned on the radio after the chequered flag. “I don’t care. I’ve misplaced quite a lot of confidence right here, on all the things.”
With Lewis Hamilton set to reach at Ferrari in 2025, Sainz final yr was not courted by the opposite high groups and as an alternative had to decide on between Williams, Alpine or Audi-owned Sauber.
His father, the rallying legend with the identical identify, publicly urged Sainz to go for Audi. Carlos Sainz senior gained the fabled Dakar rally final yr with the Volkswagen-owned German carmaker.
Now, 63-year-old Sainz informed Marca sports activities newspaper: “I believe Williams was the fitting resolution.
“After being the second-to-last workforce final yr, Carlos has already achieved a sixth place in qualifying. The workforce has been a little bit of a revelation and we’ve to confess now that he made the fitting alternative.”
Nonetheless, some nonetheless imagine selecting a works operation like Audi would have been a greater guess for the all-new chassis and engine rules of 2026.
“Such a radical change within the rules is a cocktail,” Sainz senior admits, “and we’ll have to attend and see who acquired it proper and who didn’t. It may very well be great and till the primary race of the yr arrives it will likely be very tough to know who acquired it proper.”
As for his potential run for the FIA presidency later this yr, Sainz snr performed down any suggestion of a battle of curiosity – provided that his son is a F1 driver and likewise co-director of the Grand Prix Drivers’ Affiliation.
“Folks know me effectively sufficient to know that this is able to not be an issue,” he mentioned, including that he would step away from his son’s administration workforce.
If he does run for FIA president, many insiders are tipping that he can be a critical challenger for the highly-controversial incumbent Mohammed Ben Sulayem.
“There are vital folks within the motorsports world who’re encouraging me to make the choice, and I’m going to consider it,” mentioned the Spaniard, 63.
I’ve to find out whether or not I actually have the mandatory help and whether or not it’s price a strive or not,” Diario Sport newspaper quotes him as including.
