Carlos Sainz reckons talks with other teams over his future have taught him how "tough" Formula 1's landscape can be, and to trust 'very few' people in the paddock.
Although Sainz stated at the Barcelona round that he hoped to have a resolution on his F1 future 'very soon', he noted that a triple-header was not the time to exercise clarity of thought about his movements for 2025.
He says that in taking his time, he has been able to learn a lot more about the other teams on the grid, with regard to their future plans and the current situation at each one.
The Spaniard has spent a long period of time being linked with Sauber and Williams, although Alpine is understood to have tabled a late offer.
Conversely, he felt that it was often difficult to believe certain standpoints within negotiations over his future, adding that there were few people in the paddock that he was able to fully trust.
"First of all, the situation that I've been in this year has made me learn a lot about Formula 1 in general," Sainz explained.
"By talking to teams it has kind of showed me how tough this sport is and how little sometimes you have to believe what people say at the beginning of negotiations, conversations, and mainly people.
"Also to trust very little people in the paddock because it's really a very political sport.
"There's a lot of things like this involved, and it's made me understand it's a very tough sport in that sense and understand a better picture of Formula 1 without going too much into detail.
"Apart from the other teams, obviously I've learned a lot in which position they are in and the teams that I am potentially moving to next year, I've obviously dug in a lot into the state that they are and the situation that there is.
"And yeah, it's also made me have probably a better understanding of how Formula 1 each team is and where they are."
He added that it was difficult not to get carried away with recent results among some of his options, and stated that this was something that he was trying not to do as he maps out his future in the championship.
Instead, he wishes to maintain a level of objectivity over a team's future plans, and try to focus on the longer-term projects being offered to him.
"I'm doing the exercise within myself and my team to really try to avoid looking at each race performance of each team and just focus on the project and the feeling that I get by talking to each team and obviously looking at the contracts.
"I agree, it's not easy because sometimes you, the competitive spirit, you just try and see who is faster, but I don't think the last race of each team is also a representative point of where they're going to be in the next couple of years."
