“Thrown a bit out of proportion”: When Carlos Sainz addressed his ‘disingenuous’ comments on Red Bull

F1 driver Carlos Sainz, who made his debut in the sport driving for Red Bull Racing's sister team, Toro Rosso, clarified some of the comments he made during the end of his tenure with the Austrian team. On July 6th, 2017, during what would be the Spaniard's final season with Toro Rosso, Sainz made it clear that he would be interested in moving up to Red Bull the following season, and if that wasn't going to happen, it would be unlikely that he would stay on with the sister team.

The next day, RBR's Team Principal Christian Horner called the driver's comment 'disingenuous', talking about how the team had invested in Sainz to be in the sport, and without them he wouldn't be in an F1 car. Helmut Marko also spoke out on the same day, pointing out that Sainz was perhaps acting ungratefully.

In an interview with the media in Spielberg, Austria later that same week on July 8th, 2017, Sainz elaborated on what he meant when he was asked about the 'fuss' created by his comments.

"I wouldn't call it 'fuss', I think that's a strong word, but yes I think everything probably has been thrown a bit out of proportion. What I said yesterday is nothing strange, I believe. I think as an ambitious driver and human it's very clear that my first goal in life is to become a Red Bull driver and start fighting for podiums with them."

"Again, I owe them everything, I owe Toro Rosso and the people there everything I know in Formula One at the moment, but I have ambitions and my ambition is to be a Red Bull driver one day. Hopefully sooner rather than later." [via ESPN]

Towards the end of the 2017, Carlos Sainz drove the final four races for the Renault (now Alpine) team. He was also given a spot at the French team for the entire 2018 season, on loan from Red Bull in a deal that allowed for Toro Rosso access to Honda power in a 'swap deal'. In 2019, Sainz would move to McLaren, ending his relationship with the Austrian team.

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Carlos Sainz discussed how his time at McLaren was "a good example of how team spirit works"

Carlos Sainz looks on before the F1 Grand Prix of Australia at Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit on March 17, 2019 - Source: Getty

Carlos Sainz joined McLaren in 2019, signing a two-year contract. He spoke about how his first qualfiying session in Australia helped him to feel secure with the team. During qualifying in Melbourne, Sainz was knocked out in Q1, giving him a starting position of P18. Zak Brown, CEO of McLaren Racing, went to Sainz after the session and reassured him that he was still an awesome driver and it was an understandable result.

Speaking about that interaction, the Spanish driver highlighted how it was all he needed to bounce back:

“But as soon as the qualifying finished, I knew I was driving well and I just needed a couple of good comments from my bosses, and from everyone, just to cheer me up and feel that the next day was another day."

“That’s a good example of how a good team spirit works, how to operate a team by the management. And having also that security for two years it didn’t feel like one qualifying was going to change my whole career," he said [via Race.com].

During his two years with the team, Carlos Sainz scored two podiums and finished sixth place in the drivers' standings at the end of both seasons.