Held in high regard by everyone in the F1 paddock, Carlos Sainz admits he was particularly pleased with the opinion of one man in particular: F1 legend Alain Prost.

Working as a special advisor to Renault in Formula 1, the four-time world champion encouraged the manufacturer to take a keen interest in the young Spanish driver’s talent.

Prost also publicly said that in his view, Sainz was good enough to drive for Ferrari.

“For me, that someone like Prost says that about me, you can imagine how that makes me feel,” Sainz is quoted by the Spanish press.

“He is one of the most important people in Formula 1 — for me, he was on the same level as Ayrton Senna.

“Three or four years ago I would not have imagined someone saying something like that about me, so it means I have to keep doing things just as I have done.”

• Sainz Snr urges son to ignore Renault rumors

However, Carlos Sainz’s famous father has warned the youngster to keep his head down and focus on 2017 rather than be distracted by a team switch for 2018.

Sainz Jr agrees: “I’ll talk about 2018 when I’m finished 2017. Right now, without having done the first race, to think this is the year for me to take energy from one place and put it somewhere else.

“All my energy is on Melbourne, then China, then Bahrain. Race by race, and then we’ll see where we will be.”

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