Carlos Sainz at a press conference. (Image: Getty.)
driver has been voted in by his colleagues as the new Grand Prix Drivers’ Association (GPDA) director, replacing the now-retired .
Sainz, who was forced to find a new team after being replaced at by , will undertake additional responsibilities this season.
The Spanish star is entering his 11th year in the sport and joins driver as a director of the GPDA, along with chairman Alex Wurz and Anastasia Fowle.
“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,” Sainz said in a statement posted to social media.
“So I’m very happy and proud to do my part by taking on the directors’ role in the GPDA.”
Wurz, a former and Williams driver, added: “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.”
Carlos Sainz will work closely with George Russell. (Image: Getty)
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Vettel, who previously held the role, has not raced competitively since retiring from F1 after the 2021 season with .
There have been or compete in Le Mans 24 Hours, but they are yet to materialise despite links to Porsche.
Sainz found himself in an unfamiliar position, having performed well with , but made to make way when Tifosi were presented with the opportunity to pair Hamilton with .
He was seen as a marquee free agent and linked with the likes of and , but ultimately joined Williams and will race alongside in 2025.
Team principal James Vowles explained how a short conversation with Sainz convinced him almost immediately that he was right for the job.
“So first of all, Abu Dhabi, the rate he got up to speed was mind-blowing to me,” Vowles told after testing for Williams. “It was really just a handful of laps before he was second on the timesheets and held it there all day.
“His feedback is more concise than I expected really brilliant, sort of very good at distilling information in a way that you can understand concisely and then find in the data later as well as a result of it.
“He has the ability with just a few words to bring our team to absolute celebration. So I knew bits of them, but it’s good to see all pull together.”