Sainz not thinking about Red Bull rumours

Carlos Sainz has said he is fully focused on his job at Renault and is not thinking about the prospect of replacing Daniel Ricciardo at Red Bull.

The Spaniard was part of the engine deals that kick in next season but Red Bull were unwilling to allow Sainz to leave the Red Bull family on a permanent basis and is at Renault on an initial year's loan.

The unwillingness stems from the fact that Ricciardo is out of contract next year and is not ready to commit to Red Bull at this stage, which could provide Sainz with an opportunity to partner Max Verstappen in 2019.

However, Sainz said he only has Renault at the forefront of his mind.

"I feel very good at Renault," Saiz said to EFE news agency.

"They have made me feel at home from day one, helping me to adapt to the team and the car very quickly, in addition to the desire I had to join the team and move forward."

"Everything about 2019 and the Red Bull rumours do not interest me right now."

Renault's reliability has come into question again following four retirements at the last race in Mexico by cars powered by the Enstone-based team, one of which being Sainz.

But he has no concerns about the performance and said Mexico was a minor blip.

"They are small problems, and I would not even call them problems," he added.

"They are simply problems with experience, with adaptation of how the car reacts to different situations in the race."