Sainz not disappointed to miss out on Red Bull F1 drive

Carlos Sainz says his next Formula 1 career move to join McLaren has quashed any disappointment he may have had about missing out on a seat at Red Bull.

The Spaniard will fill the McLaren seat vacated by fellow countryman Fernando Alonso in 2019, after the double world champion announced he would quit F1 at the end of the current campaign.

Sainz has been backed by Red Bull for much of his career and spent three years at sister team Toro Rosso before being loaned out to Renault. He was a candidate to replace the Enstone-bound Daniel Ricciardo but opted for a two-year deal at McLaren, with Pierre Gasly instead earning promotion to Red Bull.

“I think it is impossible to be disappointed when you’re leaving a team to go to McLaren,” Sainz said ahead of this weekend’s Belgian Grand Prix. “It’s one of the dreams that I had as a kid and to be joining McLaren in the future I think it’s impossible to be unhappy.

“Yes I have been part of the Red Bull family for a very long time and I have always said that Red Bull was one of my main objectives as a racing driver but the McLaren family pushes you a lot to that and is this impossible to be disappointed with that.”

Sainz explained the timeframe of movements that paved the way for his McLaren switch, revealing he has been in contact with the Woking squad about a possible move for over a year.

“As soon as Daniel was announced at Renault, obviously there was a period of time where I didn’t know where I was going to go,” he said. “I had been preparing my options and McLaren has been one of them for a long time now.

“I’ve been in touch with McLaren management for a year or two and because of that I was very calm about the situation. I had to wait to see what was happening with Red Bull and take my own decision.

“In the end it turned out to be good,” Sainz added. “I am about to leave the Red Bull family in a very good way. I owe pretty much all my Formula 1 career to them, thanks to them I am going to McLaren because they put me into F1. I am opening a new chapter next year, my first two-year deal with a team. I cannot wait.”