Confirming a report that he could run for the FIA presidency, Carlos Sainz Snr says he isn’t looking for a “fight” against Mohammed Ben Sulayem nor will he harp on about recent “controversy”.

Instead, he’d run out of “passion and love for motorsport” in the belief that he can make a difference.

Could Carlos Sainz Snr become the next FIA president?

Earlier this week Sky Sports News revealed that Sainz Snr had been named as a potential challenger to Ben Sulayem with the motor racing legend enjoying ‘widespread support’ among the bosses of various FIA-sanctioned series.

Ben Sulayem has been in the role since late 2021 when he replaced former Ferrari team boss Jean Todt as the head of motorsport’s governing body.

But support for the 63-year-old has waned amidst a host of controversies from sexist comments against women to irking Liberty Media and the F1 team bosses when he claimed the sport’s reported £16.2bn value was “inflated”.

He also imposed huge punishments on all drivers in FIA-sanctioned events should they swear during an FIA event or say anything that could cause “moral harm or loss” to the FIA.

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The rift between Ben Sulayem’s FIA and some of its members widened in February when high-ranking officials, including UK motorsport’s David Richards, were barred from a meeting of the World Motor Sport Council when they refused to sign a non-disclosure agreement.

Sainz Snr, though, has made it clear he won’t use those controversies to acquire votes and will instead focus on what he can bring to the FIA table.

“There are plenty of reasons, but I have been driving for more than 40 years and this sport has given me everything,” he told Motorsport.com.

“This possibility [of being president] has been in my mind for some time now, not very deeply, but now I think it could be the right time in my career for me to take the step. I’m confident I can do a good job and put together an excellent team to give back to the sport part of what it has given me.

“I have accumulated a lot of experience in this sport throughout the years and I’m certain I can bring new and interesting things, to strengthen and develop the sport and the automobile world.

“I think obviously lately there has been some controversy, but I want to concentrate on myself. I leave the judgment to others.

“If I do this [run for president] it will not be to fight anyone, it will be out of passion and love for motorsport, because I believe I can help and improve certain things.

“I believe it is probably the right time for me personally and professionally, and that is why I am considering it.”

As for what he does bring, the double World Rally champion reckons his decades in motorsport, which include rallying, Extreme E, and even with Formula 1 alongside his son Carlos, puts him in a unique position.

“Everybody has his own way of running [an organisation],” he said, “his own beliefs on what is best and his own way of understanding this sport and the world of mobility.

“I think my track record shows that when I’m committed to something I only know one way to do things, which is professionally, seriously and straightforward. Then it will be up to the community to decide.

“I have been on the other side of motorsport and I know how important it is to listen to everybody – drivers, teams, fans, organisers, promoters, social, manufacturers. I truly think I can make that relationship much smoother and stronger.

“I would like to see the future of the FIA as an entity that is really appreciated and respected by everybody.”

Sainz Snr running, though, does come with one potential sticking point – his son Carlos Sainz.

Sainz is a Formula 1 driver currently racing for the Williams Formula 1 team, which could lead to questions of bias or conflict.

Sainz Snr said of that: “I have my track record and people know me well enough to understand that this will not be an issue.

“Obviously, I will have to step down regarding my role with Carlos and his career but this is not an issue at all.

“He’s not a child anymore, he has been in F1 for a decade now and we both know that if I go ahead with this project our relationship will change, of course.

“The FIA is a very serious entity and there will be no conflict.”

The next FIA presidential election will be held in Uzbekistan on 12 December, with Sainz Snr the first potential candidate to reveal he would run against Ben Sulayem.

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