Carlos Sainz believes that his countryman Fernando Alonso will fight off any thoughts he may have about retiring from F1 once he drives this year's cars.
The McLaren-Honda driver has endured two very lean years since joining the Woking-based outfit, and hasn't won a race since Barcelona 2013 when he clinched his 32nd career win, driving for Ferrari.
Sainz believes however that his countryman will be happy with what he sees in 2017.
"They are faster cars, with the aerodynamic loads of the golden years of 2005," Sainz told the Spanish media.
"The tyres are wider and degrade less, allowing us to attack more.
"I do not have much contact with Fernando -- less than people believe anyway. In fact, I don't know what he is doing in the pre-season, but I do think Fernando will have a hard time retiring after he tries the new cars."
Sainz recently started work in the Red Bull simulator, and declared that from what he has sampled the 2017 Toro Rosso will be "fast and impressive".
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