‘Sainz was unlucky to start F1 career as Verstappen’s teammate’
Carlos Sainz was “unlucky” to have Max Verstappen as his teammate at the start of his F1 career, Red Bull motorsport advisor Helmut Marko believes.
Sainz and Verstappen made their F1 debuts together as rookies at Toro Rosso in 2015. Verstappen earned promotion to the Red Bull senior team the following year, while Sainz never got the chance.
After an initial loan spell at Renault, Sainz moved to Enstone permanently, before later joining McLaren and Ferrari, who he currently drives for.
Marko reckons Sainz was simply unfortunate to miss out on a seat with Red Bull.
“Sainz is, without a doubt, a great driver,” Marko told Marca. “He was almost on par with Max in Toro Rosso. The bad thing for him is that he was unlucky to have Verstappen as a team mate
“The atmosphere between the two at Toro Rosso was quite toxic. With the configuration we had then, I didn’t see a way to keep him with us, so Carlos went through Renault, McLaren and then he ended up at Ferrari.”
Sainz has claimed two grand prix victories with Ferrari, while Verstappen is now a three-time world champion, amassing 54 victories.
The Dutchman heads into 2024 as the red-hot favourite after dominating last season in record-breaking fashion, winning 19 of the 22 races to be staged.
