Carlos Sainz Jr will test for Red Bull Racing in Abu Dhabi next week – but it remains unclear whether it’s an indication that he is in favour with the drinks company, and could yet land the second STR race seat.
Red Bull made it clear that the test is a prize for winning the Renault 3.5 title, and underlined that it could have gone to anyone, as long as they were not affiliated with another top F1 team.
Sainz drove for RBR in the Silverstone young driver test in July 2013, and also did a demo in an RB8 at the Nurburgring this year, again as a prize for being the Renault 3.5 series leader.
The Spaniard will drive on the first day of the test next Tuesday, with Daniel Ricciardo taking over for the second day.
Adam Cooper's F1 Blog 
“The drinks company”. Can they ever live this down?
Probably in line for the third RBR race seat…