Marko said Red Bull still trusts me - Sainz

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Carlos Sainz says Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko called him to explain Max Verstappen's promotion and convince him he still has a future at the team.

Verstappen was promoted from Toro Rosso to Red Bull in place of Daniil Kvyat after the Russian Grand Prix, with Kvyat moving in the other direction. Sainz says he received a call from Marko ahead of the announcement to reassure him the driver swap does not rule out a future for him at Red Bull too.

"I knew one day before it was announced Dr Marko called me personally," Sainz said. "That’s why I am so calm, not happy, [but] easy about the situation [because] got some good feedback from my bosses.

"He gave me a very good explanation. He said ‘Look, we keep trusting in you, at the moment Max has this opportunity, if you keep doing what you are doing, keep fighting, keep showing us your speed and put some more results together your results can come very soon.'

"I went to bed much calmer because they gave me the feeling like they keep trusting me as before, just it’s Max is the one who has to be at Red Bull now."

And Sainz says his main focus has been on ignoring the movements around him because his own personal position remains the same.

"I think it’s clear, it sounds very typical but if there is the situation of one guy inside the Red Bull situation who hasn’t changed it’s mine.

"What has changed is the character I have on the other side of the garage but the target continues to be the same as the beginning of the year, that is to fight more than ever for my personal interest, keep fighting for my team, [and for my] main objective and that is to be in a top team."

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Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.