He's only done two races with Renault but Carlos Sainz is already fending off rumors of a switch to Red Bull Racing for 2019.
After Suzuka, the Spaniard moved from Toro Rosso to the French team where he'll spend all of next year, but future gyrations in the drivers' market could compel Red Bull to bring Sainz back into its stable.
The 23-year-old remains under contract with the energy drink company which has loaned its driver to Renault for 2018.
Should Daniel Ricciardo decide to move on however from Red Bull Racing after 2018, the Milton Keynes-based outfit could recall Sainz at its will.
While aware of his contractual obligations, Sainz isn't looking so far ahead.
"I feel very good at Renault," he told EFE news agency ahead of the Brazilian Grand Prix.
"They have made me feel at home from day one, helping me to adapt to the team and the car very quickly, in addition to the desire I had to join the team and move forward."
"Everything about 2019 and the Red Bull rumours do not interest me right now."
Sainz scored a top ten finish on his debut with Renault in Austin, but suffered a mechanical failure and a retirement in Mexico. He insisted he had no worries however about the future.
"They are small problems, and I would not even call them problems," says the Spaniard.
"They are simply problems with experience, with adaptation of how the car reacts to different situations in the race."
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