Carlos Sainz insists that he's happy where he is at the moment when it comes to his Formula 1 career.
Sainz is now in his third season racing for Toro Rosso. This time last year, he was overlooked for promotion to Red Bull in favour of his then-team mate Max Verstappen.
But Sainz insisted there were no longer any hard feelings about the decision to put the Dutch teenager ahead of him
"I think I'm in a place where people notice me," he told Spain's El Confidencial ahead of this weekend's Spanish Grand Prix.
"I'm flattered that there are those who think I should have a car fighting for victories and more."
Sainz was also quick to squelch any suggestions that the STR12 was in any way an inferior car.
"I don't think my car is not worthy of me," he insisted. "Toro Rosso is a very serious team. It slowly shows that it can do things very well with a strong technical team.
"Many big teams would want to have James Key," he added, referring to Toro Ross's technical director. "We have our budget, it's not the highest but we still get things done.
"Today I am happy where I am," added the 22-year-old.
Sainz has been in the points in all of the races that he's finished in 2017. He failed to score in Bahrain after colliding with Williams' Lance Stroll, for which he received a three place grid penalty for Sochi.
Despite consequently starting the Russian Grand Prix from 14th place, he still recovered to finish in the top ten.
In the past, Sainz has admitted that he had found it difficult to accept Verstappen being favoured over him for promotion. Verstappen went on to win his maiden race with Red Bull one year ago at Barcelona.
"I tried to show a lot of strength but it was a difficult moment, obviously, because you don't like being overlooked," he said at the end of the season.
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