Red Bull chief thinks 29-year-old F1 driver is ‘great’ but could never join Max Verstappen

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Red Bull team advisor Helmut Marko thinks Carlos Sainz is ‘without a doubt’ a ‘great’ driver but the Ferrari ace could never share an F1 garage with Max Verstappen again.

Marko fully believes that Sainz was nearly on the same level as Verstappen during their time together at Toro Rosso. But Red Bull snubbed the 29-year-old when looking for Daniil Kvyat’s successor in 2016. They felt the atmosphere at the team now named AlphaTauri was ‘toxic’.

Sainz and Verstappen had shared the Toro Rosso garage from their breakthroughs into F1 in 2015. Both knew it was a chance to prove they could follow Daniel Ricciardo and Sebastian Vettel from Faenza to Milton Keynes, too. Yet Sainz’s future would be elsewhere on the grid.

Red Bull snubbed Ferrari star Sainz to promote Verstappen in 2016

Red Bull elected to promote Verstappen to replace Kvyat from the fifth round of the 2016 F1 season. The 26-year-old even won on his debut for the team at the Spanish GP. He took full advantage of Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg’s collision before fending off Kimi Raikkonen.

Verstappen got the nod after finishing the 2015 F1 season 12th in the drivers’ championship with 49 points. Sainz scored 18 points to finish his rookie campaign in 15th place. Sainz also trailed Verstappen by nine points in the 2016 standings as Red Bull elected to demote Kvyat.

Their decision to pick Verstappen has paid off for Red Bull, with the Dutchman now a three-time F1 drivers’ champion. He also now ranks third behind only Hamilton (103) and Michael Schumacher (91) for Grand Prix wins (54). Verstappen has the seventh-most F1 poles (32).

Sainz and Verstappen shared a ‘toxic’ relationship at Toro Rosso

Sainz, on the other hand, stayed at Toro Rosso until Renault came calling toward the end of 2017. He joined the Enstone-based outfit for the final four rounds of that season to replace Jolyon Palmer. McLaren later prised Sainz away in 2019 before he moved to Ferrari in 2021.

The Madrid native also secured his best championship finishes yet after joining Ferrari with fifth place in 2021 and 2022. Sainz also won his first race at the 2022 British GP and took his second at the 2023 Singapore GP. He has achieved five pole positions to date in F1, as well.

But Marko cannot see Sainz one day sharing the Red Bull garage with Verstappen given how their relationship unfolded at Toro Rosso. Even if the Spaniard is unquestionably a ‘great’ F1 driver, who first joined the Red Bull driver programme during 2010 in Formula BMW Europe.

“Sainz is, without a doubt, a great driver,” Marko has stated, via quotes by 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 teammate.

“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.”