Red Bull fight back against Gasly's lack of transparency claim

Christian Horner has countered claims from Pierre Gasly that he was not provided with reasons why he was overlooked for a Red Bull drive in 2021.

Following a stellar season, Gasly had hoped to be promoted to Red Bull for a second time, only to be retained by AlphaTauri for next season.

Horner has insisted, however, Gasly was kept informed of the situation regarding his future and made aware of the reasons why he would be staying with the Italian-based team.

"I think it has been made very clear to him," asserted Horner. "He is a key part of the AlphaTauri team.

"AlphaTauri has got different aspirations to that of Toro Rosso. It is not just a junior team or a sister team, as I have previously stated, and I think we are very pleased for Pierre for the job he is doing in that environment.

"He is happy in there, the team are very happy with him so why break that up? That has been made clear to him. He is on a long-term contract with Red Bull for the next several years so we have all the information we need on Pierre.

"As I say, he has been made very aware throughout the discussions that his future has always lay with AlphaTauri simply because of the evolving nature of that team and the aspirations of that team."

The dark shroud surrounding the second seat at Red Bull has intensified in recent times following troublesome races for Alex Albon at the Nürburgring and Portimão.

Horner, however, has reiterated his stance that Albon is the team's "plan A" and that it remains his seat to lose ahead of F1's return to Imola this weekend for the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.

"It is Alex's seat," added Horner. "He has got his bum in the car and everyone wants to see him retain that seat. I just think he needs to lock out the outside noise, have a good weekend.

"It is great to be back at Imola. It is an old-school circuit. It is a different type of race weekend as well with more condensed running and, yeah, just get stuck into the weekend and get as much as we can out of the car."

Before you go...

Five things to expect from the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix

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