Sainz wants two year F1 contract amid McLaren rumours 

Carlos Sainz says he is looking to secure a two-year deal with his next Formula 1 contract in order to avoid speculation about his future next season. 

Sainz is on loan to Renault this year but remains contracted to Red Bull, with his future set to be influenced by Daniel Ricciardo, who is expected to stay at the Milton Keynes squad alongside Max Verstappen for 2019 now that Mercedes has locked-out its driver line-up

That would free-up Sainz to negotiate a deal with Renault, though the French manufacturer is rumoured to be eyeing up Force India’s Esteban Ocon, while the Spaniard himself is the subject of talk linking him with a move to McLaren as a possible replacement for Stoffel Vandoorne. 

“At this stage of the year, again, my future is uncertain like it has been in the last three, which means I'm used to it. I know how to live with it,” Sainz said

“Hopefully I'll be looking forward to signing a two-year deal with my future team to make sure the next year I'm not in this position again.

“You are fed up of always hearing the same answer by a racing driver, but that's just our job,” he added. “Our job is to make sure that when you put your helmet on, you have nothing in your head. 

“You also actually don't have time to think about that when you're in a qualy lap or something like that. Off the track, I'm not going to say no, of course I know what's going on.”

Despite his frustrations over the ongoing speculation about his future, Sainz insisted he feels in control of the situation and trusts the judgement of both Red Bull and Renault. 

"I feel in control of my own future. I feel my management is in control of my own future,” he explained.

"I feel Red Bull and Renault are going to do the best possible thing for me so I have full trust in those parties and from my side I'm sure I'll be happy where I'll be next year.”

McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown said McLaren is in the process of evaluating its 2019 line-up seat and described Sainz as a “very good race car driver”, though he added the team is waiting on a decision from Fernando Alonso with his F1 future up in the air. 

“We think Carlos Sainz is a very good race car driver. This is the time of year where you talk to a lot of drivers as we have two seats that we are trying to fill,” Brown explained. 

“As Fernando said, he is not yet sure what he wants to do, what he wants to drive, so those are scenarios that we are working through and talking to a variety of drivers.

"But we keep those conversations internal and ultimately it’s a bit of a group decision about what we will do with drivers."

When asked if McLaren would be happy to field two Spanish drivers in its team, Brown replied: ”As far as having two drivers from the same nationality, we are fine with that."