Sainz reveals why Racing Bulls 'has always been a playground for Marko and Horner'

15:20, 14 Jul

Updated: 15:57, 14 Jul

Co-author:Tobia Elia

byHidde Korte

Carlos Sainz made his Formula 1 debut with Toro Rosso in 2015, lining up alongside Max Verstappen. The team, now known as Racing Bulls, still serves the same purpose: developing young talent for Red Bull Racing.

Back then, Sainz shared the garage with Verstappen, who eventually made the step up to Red Bull. But how does Sainz view Helmut Marko’s leadership and the way he runs things within the Racing Bulls setup?

Speaking on the High Performance Podcast, Sainz offered a glimpse into how things work behind the scenes at Racing Bulls when he joined the team in 2015: ''It was a year to prove yourself and only think about yourself. Try and beat Max. Max trying to beat me and see who's better.''

''And if you win, you maybe go to Red Bull. If you manage to shine and not win, you stay in Toro Rosso and you stay in F1 and you make a career. If you get destroyed or you lose, you're out of Formula One. It's two opposites.''

Competition with Verstappen leaves Sainz with fond memories

The now Williams driver also added: ''The atmosphere we were put into in Toro Rosso was to lock horns with Max immediately, because that's what...I love Toro Rosso, I love that team, but that team up until recently, has always been a playground for Helmut Marko and Christian Horner to put the two drivers there, [and] see who's better to jump to Red Bull.''

''So those two drivers are going to try and beat each other. No criticism because that team works well. It delivers great drivers to Formula One. It did with Sebastian (Vettel), it did with Max.''

''It still now has Isaac doing great, Liam recovering from his Red Bull episode. It still serves its purpose. But the reality is that you're always going to lock horns with your teammate there.''