10/07/2020
NEWS STORY
The Red Bull Ring has been buzzing following reports that Red Bull owner, Dietrich Mateschitz is keen to welcome back his prodigal son, and while Christian Horner and Helmut Marko have both dismissed the speculation it continues.
Speaking to Sky Sports this morning during FP1 however, Horner gave the bluntest dismissal yet to the speculation.
"Obviously the topic has been raised," he admitted. "We had a brilliant time with Seb and he'll forever be a part of our history.
"We didn't expect him to be on the market this year," he continued, "and our commitment is to our existing drivers, we think we've got a great pairing in Max and in Alex. We think that has a great potential for the future as well.
"So, unfortunately, it's not something that we're going to able to accommodate."
Pushed a little harder, and asked if this constituted a definite no, he replied: "That is a definite no, I'm afraid.
"Sebastian I think is aware of that," he added, "well, he is aware of that.
"It's unusual for a four-time world champ to be out of a drive at this point in the year," he added. "I guess he's got a couple of choices available to him. I assume either Racing Point or a year out and revaluate the options in a year's time."
"I haven't at this stage made a decision yet," said Vettel on Thursday. "I'm not taking any pressure," he added. "We've all seen that Fernando is coming back which I think is good for F1 so we'll see how he gets on.
"But looking at myself, I'll take the time that I need to take a decision for myself first. Everything is an option at the moment: Carry on, have a break, or retire.
"But as I said I haven't made the decision yet so it depends on what options are around. It's not a secret that I'm competitive, I have achieved so much in this sport and I'm interested in achieving more, not just taking part."
Check out our Friday gallery from Spielberg, here.