Grapevine: Sainz to get taste of Renault's F1 car

The French squad hope to have the Spaniard drive the R25 car during the World Series by Renault event at the Barcelona circuit next week, although the team admit it is still too early to confirm Sainz will be in action then.

Sainz, the world rally champion in 1990 and 1992, will conduct a shakedown at the Silverstone circuit later this week and, if everything goes according to plan, the Spaniard will then be in action in Barcelona over the weekend.

"We are hoping to have Carlos drive the R25 at the Barcelona "World Series by Renault" event," a Renault spokesman told autosport.com. "In order to confirm this is possible, he will conduct a shakedown run at Silverstone later this week.

"After that run, a decision will be taken. So at this stage, it is a preliminary step towards his possibly driving the car at the World Series meeting, and nothing more than that."

Sainz, who will start his second Dakar rally with Volkswagen next year, has been given permission from the German car maker to carry out the F1 run, as he is under contract with them.