Carlos Sainz sets Max Verstappen record straight – 'You'll have to ask Christian Horner'
Nearly a year since he revealed he was joining Williams, Carlos Sainz Jr has opened up on Red Bull's decision not to sign him as Max Verstappen's next partner.
Carlos Sainz Jr has insisted he has a positive relationship with Max Verstappen and says only former Red Bull team principal Christian Horner knows why they ultimately did not pursue him. When Lewis Hamilton's move to Ferrari was confirmed, the writing was on the wall for the Spaniard.
While Sergio Perez underperformed and struggled in the second Red Bull car, Sainz enjoyed a more productive final campaign with Scuderia. He finished fifth in the overall standings, 67 points ahead of his replacement Hamilton and 138 ahead of Perez. After the latter's departure from Red Bull was confirmed, a move for Sainz appeared to be the obvious option for Horner. But amid rumours of Sainz and Verstappen having a difficult relationship from their season together back in 2015, the Milton Keynes based team opted to promote Liam Lawson to the second chair. He was quickly replaced by fellow Racing Bulls graduate Yuki Tsunoda after only two Grands Prix.
Sainz, who went on to join Williams, admits he is unsure why Red Bull did not pursue his signature.
Speaking on The High Performance podcast, when asked if he believes Verstappen did not want him at Red Bull, Sainz replied: “This is what people have concluded or how people are trying to explain or understand it.
"The only thing I can say is that you will need to go and ask Christian or whoever seems competent to answer this question.
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"The only thing I could say is that I genuinely get on well with Max. That is what people do not see from the outside. We had a rivalry in our first year in F1, but it was a relatively healthy rivalry in terms of him and me, the way we used to go about racing.
“Now we get on really well. So if that’s the reason, I don’t understand why they would not want me next to Max, because I think we would actually be a very strong pairing in F1.”
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Horner was recently sacked as team principal, with Verstappen trailing current leader Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris in the Driver's Championship standings. Sainz has also found life difficult at Williams and is still waiting for his first podium finish.
While there was a hint of disappointment in Sainz's words, the Madrid-born driver has also considered the bigger picture. He added: “I think everyone is having a really tough time being Max’s team-mate. I can only say that when I was Max’s team-mate, I did not have this really tough time. I was obviously, incredibly, surprised with how quick he was.
“He is an insane driver. He is going to go out as one of the best drivers in history, if he’s not already one of the best ever in history, but that first year together, since then, has given me the confidence to know that I can be up against anyone.
“I have been team-mates with Charles (LeClerc), Lando (Norris) and Nico (Hulkenberg), I have been team-mates with very quick guys, probably the best in the sport, and now Alexander (Albon) who is incredibly fast.
“It just makes me want to be up against the best still, it hasn’t made me go, ‘No, I don’t want this.’ I know I can take it and I know I have been successful in the past.”
