Carlos Sainz's 2019 with McLaren fills Red Bull with pride, not regret

Carlos Sainz

Sainz's 2019 fills Red Bull with pride, not regret

Carlos has come alive at McLaren!

Matthew Scott

Sunday 24 November 2019 15:30

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner says Carlos Sainz's superb performances for McLaren in 2019 have left his former employers with feelings of pride rather than regrets.

Sainz was formally cut from the Red Bull programme and allowed to join McLaren for 2019, with Red bull opting to bring Pierre Gasly into the senior team to replace the Renault-bound Daniel Ricciardo.

The Spaniard had previously spent time on loan from Red Bull to the French manufacturer, having also been overlooked in favour of Max Verstappen when Daniil Kvyat was demoted in 2016.

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Red Bull's decision was questioned in some quarters as Gasly struggled badly in the senior set-up, prompting another change of drivers in the summer break, which saw Alexander Albon promoted from Toro Rosso just 12 races into his F1 career.

All the while, Sainz has put together a superb season for a resurgent McLaren, often taking 'best of the rest' honours and regularly finishing ahead of Gasly when the Frenchman was in the Red Bull.

Speaking before a bonkers Brazilian GP which incredibly saw both Sainz and Gasly take their maiden F1 podiums, Sainz doing so after starting in last place, Horner dismissed the notion that he might regret not bringing the Spaniard back into the fold.

"Well, I think it's been good to see Carlos get into a good car this year and he has done a very good job," Horner said.

"He has done a very good job. He has driven well. He has very much been the best of the rest after the group of the top three teams and he's driven some very strong races this year.

"We elected to go our different ways but we are still proud that we gave him the opportunity to come into Formula 1 and that he's managed to use that opportunity to carve himself out a career, albeit now with another team."

After being classified second and third respectively in Interlagos, Gasly and Sainz are locked together on 95 points, with the Frenchman in sixth place in the standings thanks to his loftier finish in Brazil.