Daniel Ricciardo rubbished reports that he has agreed a deal to return to Red Bull as a reserve driver for 2023.
The Aussie is considering his options for next season, after coming to terms with the fact he will not be on the grid. His McLaren contract will be cancelled at the end of this year, following his failure to find consistent performances or results with the team.
Mercedes have been linked as a potential destination. Team boss Toto Wolff has been coy on those rumours so far, though a move would make sense as the Silver Arrows are in need of a new reserve after losing Nyck de Vries and Stoffel Vandoorne.
A return to Red Bull has also been mooted. Mirror Sport previously reported that Ricciardo had held talks with his former team about taking up a reserve role in 2023. Further reports have emerged among Brazilian media this weekend that a deal between the two parties has been reached.
But the 33-year-old has since moved to deny those claims. Asked if he had made a decision, of if he was even close to one, Ricciardo told reporters: "Not really. There's nothing yet close or confirmed or anything. I can make something up, but nothing new to tell you."
"Look, as I have said before, I have nothing to hide. From even a contractual point of view in terms of, I guess I'm free to talk and whatever but there's nothing done. If something was done, trust me, I'd be saying it. So there's nothing holding that back."
Meanwhile, Red Bull have been recruiting other drivers of late. De Vries was signed from Mercedes to drive for AlphaTauri, allowing Pierre Gasly to move to Alpine for next season.
And, this weekend, Enzo Fittipaldi announced that he had joined the Red Bull driver academy. He became the fifth F2 driver to become part of that setup, the others being Jehan Daruvala, Liam Lawson, Denis Hauger and Ayumu Iwasa.
"I'm very happy to announce that I will be joining the Red Bull Family! Thank you Dr Helmut Marko and Christian Horner for the opportunity!" wrote Fittipaldi on social media. That message was accompanied by a photo of himself shaking hands with Marko, who oversees Red Bull's development programme.
