Toro Rosso team principal Franz Tost has denied that he fired Sebastien Bourdais via a text message.

Bourdais claimed that his former employers had not told him in a face-to-face meeting that his services were no longer required, but rather did so through a text message.

"Dietrich Mateschitz was at the Nürburgring but he did not speak with me. He did not call me. Everything was done by SMS, which to me has no style," the 30-year-old told French magazine Auto Hébdo.

However, Tost has categorically denied the Frenchman's claims.

"I told Monsieur Bourdais personally that he is not going to drive any more and did not write any SMS," Tost told Sport Bild.

"I can understand that he is disappointed, but his performances were simply not what we expected. We wanted an increase in speed from him in his second year and it did not happen."