Carlos Sainz has received a ringing endorsement from official Renault team advisor and Formula 1 legend Alain Prost.

The quadruple world champion said he advised his old team Ferrari last year that they should sign up the Toro Rosso driver.

"I would like to see how he would do in a major team," Prost told France's Auto Hebdo. "I would put him in a Ferrari.

"A few months ago I recommended him to Ferrari so you can imagine that I'm a big fan of his," he added.

Now, Prost works as an official advisor or consultant for the works Renault team, who reportedly already wanted Sainz for 2017 but could not extract him from his Red Bull contract.

Prost said: "Right now we do not think about the drivers for next year. But for me Carlos is one of the top drivers. Many teams are interested in him."

Sainz finished 12th in the 2016 drivers' championship.