Red Bull Racing advisor Dr Helmut Marko has called the stories of Max Verstappen vetoing Carlos Sainz Junior coming back to the team "bullsh*t", as Sainz's name will still be in the running for the 2019 Red Bull seat.
Stories emerged in the wake of Daniel Ricciardo leaving Red Bull of Verstappen vetoing Sainz to be his teammate again. Verstappen and Sainz were teammates at Toro Rosso when they both made their debuts in F1 in 2015. They often clashed as they both were eager to prove themselves on the biggest stage, and their disliking for each other was believed to be one of the main reasons why Verstappen vetoed the Spaniard.
Marko dismisses this.
"Daniel [Ricciardo] called me on Thursday to inform me about the decision to leave the team at the end of the season.
"He spent most of his career at Red Bull and told me he wanted a change.
"Now we will have to think about who will be Max[ Verstappen]’s teammate.
"The rumours that point to the veto of Verstappen of Sainz, are bullshit.
"Red Bull is the only one that decides on its driver pairing."
Typical Dr Marko. No nonsense.
This means that Sainz is still very much in the running for Ricciardo's seat at Red Bull, even though Pierre Gasly is also strongly linked to make a promotion from Toro Rosso.
Franz Tost, Toro Rosso's team principal and former boss of both Sainz and Verstappen, rates the Spaniard highly.
"Carlos has a speed similar or equal to Max," he said.
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