Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko has praised Carlos Sainz, admitting he was "unlucky" to go up against Max Verstappen during his time at Toro Rosso.

As part of the Red Bull stable, the Spaniard struggled to establish himself in Formula 1 in his early years, even after he joined Renault on loan late in 2017 and in 2018.

In contrast, Verstappen, who joined Toro Rosso at the same time as Sainz in 2015, was flying high as the top driver of the next generation following his promotion to Red Bull at the 2016 Spanish Grand Prix.

But Marko, who heads the Red Bull program, was reluctant to let Sainz go until eventually doing so at the end of 2018 because he was fully aware of his potential.

“Sainz was unlucky to meet Verstappen at a crucial moment," the Austrian told Autorevue.

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“We already saw in the first test at Silverstone he was super-fast right away. He was almost at the same level as Verstappen. Almost.

“But when we had the choice between Verstappen and Sainz, it was clear.”

Since joining McLaren in 2019 and then Ferrari last year, Carlos has shined finishing in the top six of the Drivers' standings each year for three straight seasons.

And with the Scuderia looking to make the jump back to being a front-running team in 2022, the Red Bull chief knows Sainz could be a threat.

“The new regulations make it difficult to make predictions for this season. But if Ferrari should make a big hit with their new car, Carlos can certainly challenge for the title,” he told Auto Bild.

“Carlos is a very good racing driver. The fact he left Red Bull was not due to his performance. In any case, he has shown [Charles] Leclerc is probably not the wonder boy many people thought he was.”

As for Sainz himself, he also feels prepared to battle for the ultimate prize if the opportunity comes.

“Regarding Ferrari in 2022, it is very difficult to know where we are going to be next year,” he told Spanish publication AS.

“But I think the team has grown a lot and during the season we became a much stronger team in terms of pit stops, strategy, tyres, the way to execute on weekends…

“If the car is good this year, we are ready.”