Carlos Sainz Jr has admitted he is happy to take grid penalties as a sacrifice for helping Renault's long-term performance.
Sainz's team boss, Cyril Abiteboul, has already been admitted that the team is considering taking grid penalties in order to use more than the limit of three engines a season. This may allow Renault to get a better performance more consistently due to lower mileage requirements.
The Spanish driver commented on the potential for grid penalties, saying:
"When there is a team that is not worried about 2018, you are worried about being world champions by 2020, you need to make progress.
"And you have to do the engines on the track and test them, and try them on the performance on them."
The former Toro Rosso driver added:
"It's a reminder that this is a team that is using as a development year, and in a development year, and start testing.
"It might not be ideal, but we're not fighting for the world championship, so it's not like starting one race is going to change things."
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