Red Bull advisor Dr Helmut Marko has branded rumours that Christian Horner will be sacked as team principal after the Imola Grand Prix as "nonsense".
"That's not true and is completely nonsense," he told Kleine Zeitung.
Max Verstappen, the four-time world champion, echoed this sentiment when quizzed by Dutch journalists, saying: "I have no idea where these rumours come from."
The 2024 controversies surrounding Horner, along with the ensuing leadership upheaval and departures of key figures like Adrian Newey and Jonathan Wheatley, have largely faded. However, Red Bull continues to grapple with a performance gap to championship leaders McLaren, with Marko admitting that Imola's car update is "nothing massive".
"There was also a small improvement in Miami, but it wasn't enough," he told Kronen Zeitung.
The team has also lost its edge in pitstop efficiency, particularly since Wheatley's exit to become team boss at Audi-owned Sauber. "There have always been different reasons, but we have dropped from leading the class to mid-table," Marko, 82, acknowledged. "But we are working hard to improve."
Addressing the Horner rumours again, he added: "It seems someone is trying to make themselves important again. Everything will stay the same with us."
Red Bull's struggle to find a teammate capable of challenging Verstappen heightens concerns, especially with performance-related contract clauses approaching this summer. De Limburger suggested a connection to Verstappen's record-breaking test at the Nurburgring's Nordschleife last week, stating: "Max Verstappen can do whatever he wants because Red Bull is terrified that he will leave at short notice."
Verstappen, 27, insisted the outing was for "fun", adding: "It's my passion and anyway it's my own free time." He acknowledged working towards competing in events like the Nurburgring 24 Hours.
Speculation about a 2026 F1 sabbatical to assess the new regulations and race GT3 cars was firmly dismissed by Verstappen, who said: "That's out of the question."
Responding to Ralf Schumacher's claim that the Nordschleife is too dangerous for an F1 driver, Marko remained unfazed: "That's not the case with a GT car. It is considerably slower than a Formula 1 car, which he wanted to drive there last year," he smiled.
