Carlos Sainz acknowledged that Red Bull's choice of promoting Max Verstappen to the senior outfit early in 2016 displeased him although he did his best to conceal his feelings.
Sainz and Verstappen were thrown in at the deep end of Grand Prix racing together and both did a remarkable job in their maiden F1 season with Toro Rosso.
But the shock decision to swap Daniil Kvvat with Verstappen following the Russian driver's disappointing performance was a hard pill to swallow for Sainz.
"I tried to show a lot of strength but it was a difficult moment, obviously, because you don't like being overlooked by someone," Sainz told Autosport.
"People talked about how difficult it was for Kyvat but people thought it was easy for me also. They didn't take into account that it was also a difficult moment for me, that I had to react and I had to suddenly take the attention of Red Bull.
"I said to myself, 'I will prove you wrong' and then my best three races in Formula 1 came directly after that and a contract arrived in Baku and I signed it immediately."
Indeed, as he faced a personal mini-crisis, Sainz boosted his spirits and raised his game accordingly, clearly outperforming Kvyat for the remainder of the season.
"I remember when this happened, I was going to Barcelona, it was my home race. There was pressure from the change of team-mate and it was nearly obligatory for me to be ahead.
"I was under a lot of pressure but suddenly everything went perfect from then onwards in the season so it was a good moment and something that I'm very proud of."
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