Sainz reveals admiration for Verstappen - "He made me a better driver"

McLaren driver Carlos Sainz has revealed how Max Verstappen made him a "better driver" during the year they spent together in Formula 1 as team-mates.

The Spaniard was the eldest of the duo when they teamed up for Toro Rosso in 2015 before Verstappen was eventually called up to replace Daniil Kvyat at Red Bull part-way into the 2016 season.

When asked as to what was most difficult to deal with as Verstappen's teammate, Sainz struggled to select a single reason.

"Max is, was and has become one of the strongest, if not the strongest driver on the grid right now and he is very, very, very good," he said.

"He is extremely competitive. I admired him, I enjoyed being his team-mate, I actually learned a lot. It has made me a better driver for it clearly. Just good things about him on the driving side and he's a sociable guy."

Sainz also heaped praise on McLaren team principal Andreas Seidl, who has overseen the turnaround in the team's fortunes.

McLaren has enjoyed two podium finishes since Seidl joined the team last May, with Sainz's third place in Brazil last year marking the first podium visit since the 2014 Australian Grand Prix.

"Before Andreas arrived I felt like the team was already doing big steps forward," Sainz said.

"But obviously, since his arrival, it has given us even more stability and even more direction into the future.

"I think he is a very good leader, he is very clear on his messages and the way that he wants to run a Formula 1 team and the people that are around him and how a team needs to be run.

"I think his clarity and decisiveness of how to run a Formula 1 team is admirable and I have actually learnt a lot from him over the last few months.

"How to be tough when you need to be tough but also how to do a lot of team-building around our situation in Formula 1.

"I admire Andreas, I have a lot of respect for him and I have enjoyed a lot working alongside him."

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