As revealed only by Motorsport.com,
Carlos Sainz Sr is strongly contemplating
whether to initiate an attempt to contest the current office holder
President of FIA Mohammed Ben Sulayem’s
campaign for reelection during this year’s elections at the governing body.
A twice-crowned World Rally champion, Sainz could be seen by current F1 enthusiasts as the former rallying competitor and dad to Carlos Sainz Jr., who races for Williams. Nonetheless, the elder Sainz continues his involvement in the rally-raid circuit.
his attempts at the Dakar Rally
– in 2025, he
competitions involving Ford after a three-year partnership
using an Audi that resulted in triumph at the 2024 event.
After giving up his law degree to focus on motorsport full time, Sainz started rallying in the 1980s and became a force on the national Spanish rally scene with wins for SEAT, although he also dabbled briefly in single-seaters in that time with funding from tobacco brand Marlboro. There, Sainz broke into the quarter-finals of the 1983 Formula Ford Festival at Brands Hatch, which paved the way to a seat in 1984’s Formula Ford 2000 championship in the UK.
Continuing in national rallying back in Spain, Sainz ended his association with SEAT to take a Ford Sierra RS Cosworth to national championship wins in 1987 and 1988, supported by the American brand’s Spanish arm, which also allowed him to dovetail those exploits with his first appearance in the World Rally Championship in 1987.
Carlos Sainz, Luis Moya, Ford Sierra RS Cosworth
Photo by: Motorsport Images
In the Sierra, Sainz secured seventh place during the 1987 Tour de Corse and eighth position in the RAC Rally held in Wales alongside co-driver Antonio Boto. For the year 1988, Luis Moya joined as his new navigator, starting an extensive partnership with him. During this time, Sainz was also part of Ford’s factory squad for several races. Notable among these were two top-five finishes at the Corsica and Sanremo rallies, along with dominating performances in Spain’s national championship. These achievements drew the interest of Toyota Team Europe leader Ove Andersson—a veteran rally competitor—who brought Sainz onto their team to pilot the Celica GT-Four from 1989 onward.
Despite a rocky beginning to the season, where he retired from his first four races with Toyota, Sainz managed to secure podium finishes in Finland and Sanremo. He was well-positioned to achieve his maiden World Rally Championship (WRC) victory in Wales but faced mechanical troubles that handed the advantage to Pentti Airikkala. It wasn’t until 1990 that Sainz finally tasted championship success, setting him up for his eventual championship triumph.
Carlos Sainz, Luis Moya, Toyota Celica GT4
Photo by: Motorsport Images
Despite ongoing competition from Lancia at the pinnacle of the championship, the Italian team’s drivers didn’t compete in all races; Sainz, however, participated in every one. After securing his maiden victory at the Acropolis Rally in Greece, few obstacles remained for him as even established competitors like Didier Auriol and Juha Kankkunen fell behind significantly—Auriol lagged by 45 points and Kankkunen trailed by 55 points compared to Sainz’s tally. This gap persisted despite Sainz missing out on crucial scoring opportunities during events held in Kenya and Italy.
Kankkunen secured the championship in 1991 with Sainz finishing as the runner-up. However, in 1992, Sainz took his second title with Toyota, beating Kankkunen by just ten points.
Carlos Sainz, Luis Moya, Toyota Celica Turbo 4WD
Photo by: Motorsport Images
The two swapped cars for 1993, Sainz getting to drive the much-feted Lancia Delta HF Integrale – albeit for the privateer Jolly Club outfit as Lancia pulled its works support at the end of ‘92, due to a presumed sponsor clash as Toyota picked up Castrol money, which clashed with Sainz’s existing arrangement with Repsol.
Sainz secured only one podium that season before departing to join Subaru for the years 1994 and 1995.
With the Japanese team managed by Prodrive
In ’94, he came second to Auriol, and in ’95, he faced his teammate Colin McRae in a championship fight that sometimes turned bitter due to Sainz receiving preferential treatment from the team during the Rally Catalunya. Despite this, McRae secured the 1995 title.
Carlos Sainz, Luis Moya, Subaru Impreza
Photo by: Motorsport Images
Planning to return to Toyota prior to the team’s ban for the 1996 season due to its participation in a cheating scandal related to the turbocharger restrictor plate, Sainz dedicated two years to Ford where he competed with their Escort model (achieving three victories and securing third placeOverall in both championship standings).
He subsequently returned to Toyota to race their new Corolla. That year, Sainz came in second place behind 1998 champion Tommi Mäkinen. In the next season, he placed fifth, which was considerably further down the rankings compared to his previous position.
Carlos Sainz, Luis Moya, Ford Escort RS Cosworth
Photo by: Motorsport Images
After Toyota pulled out its factory team, Sainz rejoined McRae at Ford; despite remaining competitive, the Spanish driver’s victories started to decrease, and he secured only two more wins over the following three years—before concluding his World Rally Championship career with Citroën.
He took his final WRC win with the French manufacturer’s Xsara in the Argentina round in 2004, and closed an illustrious career in the top-tier rallying championship with a podium in the 2005 Acropolis Rally in a bit-part campaign.
Carlos Sainz and Marc Marti
Photo by: Citroen Communication
Across the 20 years since, Sainz has largely focus on rally-raid events – and counts four Dakar wins across its various iterations, the most recent being in 2024 in Audi’s RS Q e-tron with co-driver
Lucas Cruz
.
His own team
has also taken part in the Extreme E series
, where they took turns driving together
Laia Sanz
Before handing over the position to Mattias Ekstrom in 2023.
#204 Team Audi Sport Audi RS Q e-tron E2: Carlos Sainz Senior, Lucas Cruz
Photo by: Audi Communications Motorsport
Of course, Sainz is a key component of supporting his own son’s racing career – Carlos Sainz Jr became a four-time race winner with Ferrari, before moving to Williams as Lewis Hamilton replaced him at Maranello for 2025.
Currently, Sainz is contemplating whether to compete against Ben Sulayem — someone he has raced against previously during their concurrent periods in the WRC. Considering the disputes surrounding the FIA president’s ongoing tenure, Sainz could receive substantial backing from auto clubs advocating for a shift in leadership.
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