Christian Horner rubbished the idea of a "hostage exchange" between Red Bull and Ferrari to allow Laurent Mekies to become the new AlphaTauri team principal.
On Saturday, a report from Motorsport Italy claimed that the Scuderia might choose not to release the Frenchman in time to join AlphaTauri for 2024 unless Red Bull returned the favour with several engineers being eyed for a move to Maranello to work on their car for next season.
It did not go unnoticed that Horner had a chat with Ferrari chairman John Elkann this weekend. But, speaking to Mirror Sport in Monaco, the Red Bull chief dismissed the idea of such a deal happening.
"Laurent is the right guy to become the new team principal at AlphaTauri," he said. "We've picked him because of the abilities he has demonstrated and, of course, he's known to AlphaTauri from years ago."
He also expressed his confidence that there is no danger to the move happening, adding: "But no, there's no hostage exchange. We're looking forward to welcoming Laurent to the team and that will be done in the fullness of time."
Speaking about his own situation, Mekies admitted there is no timeframe on when he might be able to complete the move. He said: "Well, the truth is a decision has not been made yet, so until that point...
"As you say, I'm wearing red, and as a result, I’m committed 100 percent to Ferrari, and to represent Ferrari in these sort of conditions."
He went on to hint that the announcement of his planned move to AlphaTauri came prematurely. Mekies added: "What is fair to say is that the reason why there are still discussions is probably also because people needed more time to talk to each other.
"That's what they are doing now. I'm confident that gives them a little bit of time, and we'll find a solution that will make all parties comfortable."
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