Jaime Alguersuari has concluded he made "a mistake" to remain loyal to Red Bull late last season.
After testing Pirelli’s 2010 Renault car last week at Jerez, the Spaniard moved on to Barcelona to continue his work as a co-commentator for British radio.
However, he revealed recently that he might have been on the 2012 grid, had he not believed Red Bull executives who told him he would be at Toro Rosso this year.
"It was definitely a mistake not to negotiate with other teams," said the Spaniard, "as I had the opportunity and declined offers," he told Marca sports newspaper.
"I did that because I had loyalty to Red Bull."
Asked if he has talked with anyone from Red Bull since his dismissal, the 22-year-old revealed: "The directors, no, the technical team, yes."
It still pains him that, in explaining their decision, the Red Bull officials like Dr Helmut Marko insisted Alguersuari was not a potential winner.
"If you think that for six years they supported me then they changed their opinion overnight. One day you have a champion, the next you don’t," he said.