Sainz: "We should fear everyone" in tight midfield battle

At plenty of races last season, the most interesting battle was not at the front of the pack or for the podium places, but for the lower scoring points positions in the midfield.

Renault, Force India, Haas, McLaren, Sauber and Toro Rosso were often all battling for just a few positions inside the top ten, which made the battle so interesting.

In the end it was

’s Renault team that came out on top and grabbed fourth in the Constructors’ Championship.

Now at McLaren, Sainz believes that the midfield battle could be even closer in 2019.

The Spaniard said: "If [Sauber] are actually now the strongest midfield team, I think we should all fear them. But next year we should fear everyone," Sainz said.

"You think about Sauber, but then you think about Force India with a bit more budget, what they could be capable of. You think about Renault, what they are able to do. You think about Haas, if they keep getting the amount of Ferrari parts that they are getting and Ferrari keeps dominating, they should be also very strong.”

McLaren is continuing to recover from a period of difficulty with Honda engines, and have a five year plan to win races once again.

Sainz continued: "You think about McLaren with a whole new project and wanting to invest and wanting to go back to P4 in the championship after a difficult year.

"You think about all these teams, and you think anyone could lead the midfield battle next year."