Carlos Sainz says he will be happy to stay at Toro Rosso next year.
Just a week ago, the Spaniard was publicly criticised by his Red Bull bosses after saying it was "unlikely" he would stay at the energy drink company’s junior team in 2018.
Red Bull’s anger was probably because they had just taken up the ’option’ in the 22-year-old’s contract, just as Sainz was hinting that he might accept an offer from elsewhere in pitlane.
But at Silverstone, the driver said: "If I have to stay in Toro Rosso - if that’s what I have to do - then yes.
"People tend to see it as bad news, but I see it rather positively," Sainz is quoted by El Mundo Deportivo.
"It is good when your bosses trust you for a fourth year. It would be the first time in history that a driver has been at Toro Rosso for four years," he added.
"If I’m being renewed in June or July it’s because I’m doing a good job. I must be happy with that.
"A fourth year in formula one will mean more experience, that I will be a more complete driver and that I will be more prepared," Sainz added.