Sainz doubts Red Bull-Honda deal will impact future

Carlos Sainz Jr. doubts Red Bull's newly-announced engine deal with Honda for 2019 will have any impact on his future, with the team still retaining an option on the Spaniard's services for next season.

Sainz joined Renault for the final four races of last year as a makeweight in the deal that saw Toro Rosso and McLaren swap engine supplies for 2018, with his deal at the French team extending through to the end of the season.

Red Bull retains an option on recalling the on-loan Sainz for 2019, potentially as a replacement for Daniel Ricciardo should the Australian opt to leave. Ricciardo has six months to run on his existing contract, and has been linked to Ferrari, Mercedes and McLaren for next year.

However, Sainz does not believe Red Bull's decision to switch to Honda power units from 2019 will have any impact on his own future, which he is still sure of influencing.

"I don’t think it changes anything on my future," Sainz said.

"I think last year, maybe the engine deals affected my future. This year, I don’t think my future depends on engine deals.

"I’m pretty sure I will have an influence on my future. I’m probably more dependent on Red Bull than Ricciardo. At the same time, Red Bull is the one who has an option on me to get me this year, and I’m depending a bit on that option.

"I think everything is going to develop from now on after this engine deal, and we’ll see what happens."

Sainz said that while he remains very close to Red Bull F1 chiefs Christian Horner and Helmut Marko, he is yet to discuss plans for 2019 with them.

"I talk to Red Bull like I used to in the past. I still have a very strong relationship with Helmut, with Christian, and I get on well with them," Sainz said.

"We talk, but at the moment, about the future, there’s been no talks because I think no-one knows what’s going to happen yet."