Sainz: Gasly was the safest option for Red Bull

Carlos Sainz believes that Red Bull made a safe decision by choosing Pierre Gasly to partner Max Verstappen at the team in 2019. Sainz, who himself was in the hunt for the seat at Red Bull for next season, said that the decision to promote Gasly was the easier decision for the team.

Sainz will be joining McLaren for next season alongside the team's junior driver Lando Norris, however for a while he was in contention for the seat at Red Bull. However, his loan to Renault meant that he was realistically out of the picture when it came to deciding who to promote to fill the Daniel Ricciardo hole at the senior team.

"I am convinced that in 2016 and 2017 that if there was a gap at Red Bull then I would have got it but Ricciardo and Verstappen were fixed,” he told Sky Sports F1.

He also said he felt that Gasly was a safe pick for Red Bull but did acknowledge that the Frenchman deserved his seat at the team.