"I lost a seat at Red Bull because of my departure to Renault" says Sainz

Reports earlier this week revealed that Red Bull believed that Pierre Gasly had 'more potential' than Carlos Sainz, explaining why the Frenchman got the seat. Having been part of the Red Bull earlier in his career, Sainz believes that the fact he left the Red Bull programme was why he was not called up for the drive. The Spaniard went on to drive for Renault and is now driving for McLaren and believes that he has more freedom away from Red Bull.

"I think I have lost my chance on a seat at Red Bull because of my departure to Renault," Sainz told the Spanish newspaper AS.

Sainz believes that the Red Bull programme was quite restricting and said that "at times I would have liked more independence to make my own decisions."

However, the current McLaren driver admits that being part of the Red Bull set up was extremely beneficial for his Formula 1 career.

Although Sainz had an unfortunate time in Australia, he will hope that McLaren can get back to race-winning form whilst he is at the team and he can live up to his potential.