Red Bull Formula 1 chief Christian Horner has stressed that Carlos Sainz Jr. remains "very firmly" a part of the team's future pl🐷ans despite being loaned out to Renault for the 2018 season.

As part of Toro Rosso's split wi💃th Renault for next year in order to pick up a Honda engine supply, Sainz wꦿill join the French manufacturer's works F1 team on loan, remaining under Red Bull's F1 umbrella.

The move is seen to be a back-up plan for Red Bull should either Daniel Ricciardo or Max Verstappen leave at the end ཧof next year, with both drivers out of contract for 2019.

Horner stressed that Red Bull could not sim🍌ply give its drivers away, stressing the need to retain an option on Sainz in the future.

"We’ve had a lot of requests for a lot of our drivers and it seems to change on a daily or weekly basis," Horner told Sky Sports.

"When the music stops it will become clear but🐠 we need to be pa𒁏tient.

"They are not available, they can be loaned out or rented but they can’t 𝔉be given away. That is something that won’t be happening.

"If anything happens with Sainz, he will be very firml🌟y part of the Red Bull family."