Sainz replaces Vettel as GPDA director
Four-time F1 race winner Carlos Sainz has become a director of the Formula 1 drivers' body the Grand Prix Drivers' Association, replacing four-time F1 champion Sebastian Vettel.
Having secured four victories in the last four years with the Scuderia, the Madrid-born driver left Ferrari at the end of the last season to join Williams for the upcoming championship.
The 30-year-old Spaniard will now take on the role of director of the Formula 1 drivers' body the Grand Prix Drivers' Association, filling the vacancy left by four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel, who retired from F1 at the end of 2022 and stepped down as a GPDA director last year.
In a post by the GPDA on Instagram announcing the appointment, Sainz said: "I am passionate about my sport and think we drivers have a responsibility to do all we can to work with the stakeholders to forward the sport in many aspects.
"So I'm very happy and proud to do my part by taking on the directors' role in the GPDA."
The GPDA was founded in 1961 and, following an election by members, its inaugural Chairman was Stirling Moss. After Moss retired from the sport in 1963, Jo Bonnier succeeded him.
Before the following race, the 1994 Monaco Grand Prix, Niki Lauda, Christian Fittipaldi, Michael Schumacher, and Gerhard Berger re-established the GPDA, with assistance from Martin Brundle. In its early days, the GPDA was opposed by FIA president Max Mosley, who claimed that non-drivers were interfering with the organisation.
In 1996, the GPDA was incorporated as a UK company limited by guarantee. For the first time, the association had a formal corporate constitution and permanent offices in Monaco. The first directors of the incorporated GPDA were Brundle, Schumacher, and Berger.
Sainz joins chairman Alex Wurz, Mercedes driver George Russell and Anastasia Fowle as a GPDA leader.
Wurz said: "We are delighted to welcome Carlos as a GPDA director. He has been an active and engaged member of the GPDA for several years and we sincerely appreciate his commitment in stepping up to this vital role."
