Carlos Sainz senior has decided not to make himself available for the presidential election of the FIA motorsport federation after all. The Spaniard says in a statement on Wednesday that his candidacy would complicate the preparation for the Dakar Rally, among other things.
Sainz said just over a month ago that he was considering running for president. Now he has chosen not to step in for the time being. The 63-year-old Spaniard did this after a period in which he tried to “understand” the situation at the FIA.
“I have come to the conclusion that the current circumstances are not ideal for me to run,” writes Sainz. “I also realize that my candidacy would interfere with my preparation for the Dakar. I want to stay involved with Ford and not weaken my team.”
Sainz will appear at the start of the Dakar Rally in the Ford again at the beginning of next year, which he has already won four times in his career. The father of Formula 1 driver Carlos Sainz also became world rally champion in 1990 and 1992.
Many people saw Sainz senior as the ideal challenger to Mohammed Ben Sulayem. The current FIA president has been receiving a lot of criticism for some time, including for introducing new rules of conduct for drivers and the way he leads.
So far, Sainz was the only potential challenger to Ben Sulayem, who has already indicated that he will go for a second term. The presidential elections will take place on December 12 during the FIA general assembly in Tashkent in Uzbekistan.