Sainz "really grateful for Red Bull" but ready to be independent

New McLaren driver Carlos Sainz has expressed his gratefulness for Red Bull, but, at the same time, the Spaniard is also happy to be independent now, as he signed his first-ever multiple year deal in F1 at McLaren.

Sainz started his career at Toro Rosso, having graduated from Red Bull's junior program, and stayed at Toro Rosso until 2017. He then moved to Renault, replacing the struggling Jolyon Palmer, and teamed up with Nico Hülkenberg. Sainz performed well and showed what he was capable of at Renault, but got pushed to the exit at the French team as they signed Red Bull star Daniel Ricciardo.

The Aussie's arrival meant a departure for Sainz, who got snapped up by McLaren. He penned a multiple year deal for the first time in his career after having lived on one-year deals all the time. His new deal gives him some sort of independence, he explains.

“I’m really grateful for Red Bull, without Red Bull I wouldn’t be sitting here today as a McLaren driver,” Sainz was quoted by Crash.net.

“This independence comes with a two-year contract with McLaren so something that I really wanted, [to] find my first two year deal with a team. If that team is McLaren even better!

The 24-year-old will act as the veteran at McLaren as he teams up with rookie Lando Norris, who got promoted by McLaren after finishing runner-up in Formula 2 last season.