Carlos Sainz admits he feels honoured to even be considered for a possible seat with Ferrari in 2018.
The Spaniard is expected to be a key player in the driver market, after revealing last year that he was targeting next year as the one in which he progresses up the grid.
He was subject to interest from Renault and Mercedes, following the retirement of Nico Rosberg, last year and now is being thought of as a potential replacement for Kimi Raikkonen at the Scuderia.
“Thank you, because it’s a list every driver wants to be on,” he told Sky Italia when told of the potential Ferrar interest. “But I owe a lot to Red Bull.”
Indeed, Red Bull have been determined to keep Sainz on their books, as he is first in line to be promoted to the senior team should either Max Verstappen or Daniel Ricciardo leave.
“As long as I am a Toro Rosso driver I will not lose hope of going up to Red Bull, so I will keep giving everything to try,” the 22-year-old said.
When asked if that meant he would be prepared to remain at Toro Rosso, he added: “I don’t think about it yet, it’s too soon and for me, it’s necessary to leave all the doors open.
“But I will also never close the door or the opportunity to continue one more year because for the moment I am very happy here.”
Sainz did bemoan a lack of competitive teams that can challenge at the front, with, at least for this year it seems, only Ferrari and Mercedes able to battle for wins and the championship.
“For me, there are not enough places for all the good drivers in F1,” he claimed.
“Look at Fernando (Alonso). I’m not asking for all cars to be the same, but if Carlos Sainz does a perfect weekend, he cannot be on the podium.”