Sainz from yellow to orange as Red Bull door seems shut

In an ideal world, Sainz would return to Red Bull and slot in alongside Max Verstappen in the team, but word is that this is not what the fizzy drinks management want which leaves the driver from Madrid on the fence and looking for a drive.

Marca reports that Verstappen has vetoed Sainz's possible return, as the young Dutchman (and his team) want to avoid a confrontation between the pair which would certainly ramp up should they opt for the Spaniard.

Toro Rosso rookie Pierre Gasly is looking like the likely candidate to get promoted to the big team... but this is no certainty as team chief Christian Horner revealed that they have "numerous driver options" to consider.

However, increasingly it is looking like Sainz will be heading to McLaren, and reality is that he has very few other attractive options to consider as Silly Season speculation hits high gear, inconveniencing everyone's summer break.

The 23-year-old will be a free-agent come 30 September and the Marca report adds that negotiations with McLaren are "at an advanced stage."

Meanwhile, the Fernando Alonso situation is key to what goes on at Woking. Right now no one really knows what the Spanish veteran has in mind for next year, with word in Spain suggesting (again) that he may quit F1 at the end of this season to focus on other racing projects.

More info is only expected only when the F1 circus sets up tent for the Belgian Grand Prix and action resumes at Spa-Francorchamps at the end of this month.

McLaren team chief Zak Brown rates Sainz highly and told Sky recently, "If he were free, and we had a seat, he would definitely be very high on the list for a seat at McLaren."

"We think Carlos is an excellent racecar driver. Of course, Carlos is potentially on the market, I don't know his exact situation at Renault and Red Bull but he's certainly someone as you go down the shortlist of drivers that you'd consider putting in your car."

"If he was free, and if we had a seat, he would certainly be high up the list for a racing seat. We will make the decision of our drivers when we are ready and anticipate what it will be after the summer vacation," Brown added.

Sainz is now free so it will be interesting to follow what will transpire, but doubts will remain until Alonso makes his decision and Brown confirmed, "We do have a long-term agreement with Fernando and Stoffel but in these contracts, there's a variety of elements to them."

"We will make our driver decision when we're ready, and anticipate that being some time after the summer break. We're still reviewing, analysing, what we think is ultimately the best line-up for McLaren moving forward," concluded the McLaren team boss.