Silly season firing for Sainz and Perez

The driver ’silly season’ is still bubbling away in the F1 paddock.

The biggest seats still up for grabs are the ones at the works Renault team, who have told Kevin Magnussen he faces a longer wait for news.

One rumour is that Toro Rosso’s Carlos Sainz could head to Enstone in an elaborate deal involving cheaper engine deals for the Red Bull-owned teams.

"There’s been a bit of interest, a bit of contact," the Spanish driver admitted in Malaysia.

"It’s an honour to have some interest from a manufacturer team that wants to develop the car and create a good base for the future," Sainz added.

"At the moment, I have full trust in Toro Rosso," he said.

"I don’t have enough information about Renault to know if they’re going to perform next year, or if it’s going to take two or three years," added Sainz.

Another driver linked with Renault has been Sergio Perez, who on Thursday sounded increasingly impatient about the hold-up regarding his future.

"My deals are quite complicated because of my sponsors," the Mexican, who is thought most likely to stay at Force India, told reporters.

"At the moment I am just considering one team. There are some other options on the table but I hope it works out with one team and if it doesn’t by next week, we will have to look at something else," Perez added.