Carlos Sainz was born presidential. Just look at him: he’s a man destined for high office in a Hackett suit.
But did the news that he’s ready to run against FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem in December’s FIA election come as a surprise? Initially, yes. But with due consideration, absolutely not.
But still, we had to get it from him straight.
“It’s true,” he told DirtFish. “I am considering it. I’m going to see what is the support from the community, from the sport and from mobility.”
Sainz's Dakar ambitions with Ford might have to be put on the backburner if he goes all the way with his presidential ambition
And there you have it: by Monte Carlo next year, President Sainz could be in office and in charge of the World Rally Championship. Is it likely? Who knows. But one thing is certain: the two-time champion wouldn’t have raised the potential for him taking over at the top of world motorsport’s governing body if he didn’t believe in himself.
In his own words, he now awaits the response. And Sainz know better than anybody that the sport he loves – and made his home for close on two decades – doesn’t actually hold significant sway in the direction of the election. The power sits with the 245 clubs around the world, and with a focus on mobility rather than sport.
Should Sainz want to push the button and put his name on the ballot paper for the December 12 vote at the FIA’s General Assembly in Uzbekistan, he would need to have his team – including a deputy and seven vice-presidents – lined up and lodged between 42 and 21 days out from election day.
Unsurprisingly, there’s no shortage ready to back Sainz.
He’s the consummate professional’s consummate professional. In everything. He’s the sort of person who projects their eminence ahead of their arrival. In short, when Carlos is in the room, you know about it. He deals in aura, not noise.
And he certainly has the presence and gravitas of a president: Truman-esque in his style, the work rate is all Roosevelt.
And that’s the aspect of this story that truly draws you in. Carlos doesn’t do things by half. If he’s committed to a project, you get absolutely everything he has to give.
Talking to his former co-driver Luis Moya I once asked if he thought Sainz would retire. Moya’s smile said it all.
Carlos is always trying to improve everything.Antonio Sainz
“It would have been easy for Carlos to relax and take it easy,” Moya said. “That’s not him. He will not stop. He has this incredible capacity for working.”
A few years ago former racer Jesus Pareja invested in a kart track with Sainz. What was it like when Sainz came to the track?
“It’s like the CIA is in town. He checked everything. Meticulous.”
That’s never changed from his time as a driver. At the height of his power in the world championship, he almost had to be dragged from the test car before events. It was the same when it came to departing the debrief.
Sainz demands the best of everybody around him, but he demands a little more from himself.
Sainz was known for delivering on long-standing sponsorship deals during his time in the WRC
“He is always trying to improve everything,” said his brother Antonio, when they ran a sports and fitness club together in Madrid. “He has enormous passion for what he does. He loves cars and the sport, it’s something that’s in his blood.”
He’s got the sport side covered. But what about the commercial side, the business aspect and crucially, the politics.
He speaks four languages fluently and, I would wager, there’s not a driver who has landed more personal partnership dollars in the history of the world championship than Sainz. He started out with Marlboro and followed that with the likes of Repsol and Telefonica.
He was consistently bemused at his fellow drivers’ not following his lead. Bringing millions to the table not only delivered financial benefit to himself, but it also helped sway a tight call for a manufacturer: remember 2004, when Citroën went with Sainz over Colin McRae? Precisely.
And if connections count, which they inevitably do, Sainz listed King Juan Carlos I among his squash partners back in the day. Did he beat him?
There’s a wry smile. Sainz is far too politically astute to spill those beans.
And the same goes for his wider-ranging intentions in pursuit of motorsport high office. Suffice to say, he sees the need for change and he’s going after it.
