Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko believes that Carlos Sainz should be considered “unlucky” to have been partnered with Max Verstappen at the start of his Formula 1 career.
Sainz and Verstappen embarked upon their debuts in the top flight together with Toro Rosso, Red Bull’s second-string squad currently known as AlphaTauri, in 2015.
The pair were retained into the next season, but amid escalating tensions and Daniil Kvyat’s tumultuous period, Verstappen was promoted to Red Bull inside five rounds.
While the Dutchman has since gone on to win 54 grands prix and three Drivers’ titles, Sainz remained with the Toro Rosso team until departing towards the end of 2017.
Following stints with Renault and McLaren, the Spaniard landed at Ferrari in 2021 and has clinched two victories – including the sole non-Red Bull win of 2023 in Singapore.
With Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo locked in at Red Bull back then, Marko admits that the Austrian outfit had no choice but to release an impatient Sainz from his deal.
“Sainz is, without a doubt, a great driver,” Marko told Spanish outlet Marca. “He was almost on par with Max in the Toro Rosso.
“The bad thing for him is that he was unlucky to have Verstappen as a team-mate.
“The atmosphere between the two in the team was quite toxic. The way the team was set up at the time, I didn’t see a way to keep him with us, so Carlos went to Renault, to McLaren and then ended up at Ferrari.”
Marko also believes that Sainz suffered from being the son of a legendary figure in the motorsport world: Carlos Sainz Sr, who picked up a fourth Dakar Rally win recently.
“For a long time Carlos lived in his father’s shadow,” he added. “He was unfairly burdened with the image of being the spoiled son of a racing driver while, on the contrary, he had to constantly fight to get ahead.”
The Austrian, 80, has revealed that Sainz’s talent became evident when he drove the title-winning Red Bull RB9 in 2013 and went faster in the high-speed sections than reigning World Champion Sebastian Vettel.
“He was very fast in the minor categories. In his first F1 test at Silverstone, right from the start, he was slightly quicker in the fast corners than Sebastian Vettel, who was our reference at that moment,” Marko divulged.
“Sainz was almost at the same level as Verstappen… almost, but when we had to choose between Max and Carlos, it was clear what we had to do.”
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