Carlos Sainz remains content with his decision to leave the Red Bull program and join McLaren.
The Spaniard was considered first in line for a seat at the Milton Keynes outfit, however, opted to replace hero and mentor Fernando Alonso instead for 2019.
Speaking to AS, however, the second generation driver believes he gave up his Red Bull chance well before last summer.
“It could have gone either way, me or Gasly,” he explained. “But I know that when I left Toro Rosso to go to Renault I really lost my ticket to go to Red Bull.”
Sainz had become frustrated at the junior team in 2017, as he saw little opportunity to progress his career, and would head to the French manufacturer replacing Jolyon Palmer at the United States Grand Prix.
“I did that consciously and I still believe that it was a good decision for my future,” he continued.
Now, he has taken a further step on to McLaren and, though an MGU-K failure led to retirement in Australia, he remains upbeat.
“As you can see, I am calmer and happier than ever,” he said. “I look at my experience with Red Bull only as positive because without them I would not have been in F1.
“Yes there were times when I would have liked more independence to make my own decisions, but deep down I must be very grateful.
“Right now, if you’re not in Red Bull, Ferrari or Mercedes, I think the best place to be is still McLaren. I prefer to be here with a two-year contract and I would not change my seat for anything.”
Also Read:
- Sainz: No pressure following Alonso due to different priorites with McLaren
- Sainz enjoying ‘independence’ having left Red Bull stable
- Red Bull happy with Gasly as ‘DRS train’ costs him Australia points
Offering his own spin on the situation though, Red Bull boss Christian Horner believes Gasly is the better option now at the team.
“Carlos is a talented driver and I am happy to see him continue his career in F1 with McLaren. But we had the feeling that Pierre had more potential for us,” he was quoted by PlanetF1.
“We’ve promoted him after just a year at Toro Rosso, maybe a little earlier than expected, but he has the full support of the team.”