Carlos Sainz admits his chances of claiming sixth in the Drivers' Championship depend on Alex Albon not Pierre Gasly over the final seven races.
Before the summer break, the Spaniard ruled out challenging the then-Red Bull driver believing his car would be significantly faster at enough races to pull ahead.
However, when Gasly was demoted back to Toro Rosso that opened the door for Sainz to make up the current seven-point deficit.
“[Gasly’s move] will give me a chance, it will not be my obsession or main target - it doesn't depend on me but on how well Albon can do in a Red Bull," he said.
“If he can finish P4 or P3 every weekend, which is what the Red Bull is capable of doing, he will beat me automatically.”
Indeed, a fifth and sixth at Spa and Monza has brought Albon into play but the Thai driver still remains 24 behind.
“Yeah, it would be a nice thing [to claim sixth]," Sainz acknowledged.
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"Again, it's a weird year with what has happened in Red Bull to achieve, but I am more worried of making sure I keep winning that midfield battle at the moment than depending on what the Red Bull drivers are doing, that is out of my control at the moment.”
Sainz has failed to score in any of the past two races and will be eager to put McLaren back on track in Singapore, with cutting the gap by more than half at Monza.
