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May 9 (GMM) As he confirms a potential run for FIA president, Carlos Sainz senior has backed his son’s decision to have joined Williams this year.
30-year-old Sainz was enraged in Miami after being overtaken by his teammate Alex Albon – despite being reassured that Albon had been told to hold station.
“That’s not how I go racing,” Sainz said on the radio after the chequered flag. “I don’t care. I’ve lost a lot of confidence here, on everything.”
With Lewis Hamilton set to arrive at Ferrari in 2025, Sainz last year was not courted by the other top teams and instead had to choose between Williams, Alpine or Audi-owned Sauber.
His father, the rallying legend with the same name, publicly urged Sainz to opt for Audi. Carlos Sainz senior won the fabled Dakar rally last year with the Volkswagen-owned German carmaker.
Now, 63-year-old Sainz told Marca sports newspaper: “I think Williams was the right decision.
“After being the second-to-last team last year, Carlos has already achieved a sixth place in qualifying. The team has been a bit of a revelation and we have to admit now that he made the right choice.”
However, some still believe choosing a works operation like Audi would have been a better bet for the all-new chassis and engine regulations of 2026.
“Such a radical change in the regulations is a cocktail,” Sainz senior admits, “and we’ll have to wait and see who got it right and who didn’t. It could be tremendous and until the first race of the year arrives it will be very difficult to know who got it right.”
As for his potential run for the FIA presidency later this year, Sainz snr played down any suggestion of a conflict of interest – given that his son is a F1 driver and also co-director of the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association.
“People know me well enough to understand that this would not be a problem,” he said, adding that he would step away from his son’s management team.
If he does run for FIA president, many insiders are tipping that he would be a serious challenger for the highly-controversial incumbent Mohammed Ben Sulayem.
“There are important people in the motorsports world who are encouraging me to make the decision, and I’m going to think about it,” said the Spaniard, 63.
I have to determine whether I really have the necessary support and whether it’s worth a try or not,” Diario Sport newspaper quotes him as adding.
