Aston Martin has denied making an 'astronomical' bid to lure Adrian Newey away from Red Bull.
Amid Red Bull's dominance, the team's 2024 season has been marred by internal and public strife amid an obvious leadership power struggle and the Christian Horner scandal.
So serious has the chaos been that Dr Helmut Marko, legendary F1 designer Newey, and even Max Verstappen have all been linked with the exit door.
"We are absolutely calm and confident that Max will stay with us," Horner told Sky Italia at Suzuka, adding that the chance the Dutchman will remain at Red Bull beyond 2024 is "100 percent".
But even Verstappen doesn't deny that he is being actively poached by Mercedes' Toto Wolff.
"I understand why he does it," the 26-year-old told De Limburger newspaper. "You can't ignore me. They want me in that car, I understand that.
"A few years ago there was of course a little more tension between us and Mercedes, but that can all be forgiven and forgotten," Verstappen added. "That's true on both sides.
"But that doesn't mean I think I should be driving somewhere else right now. Also, Mercedes does not have the fastest car at the moment. That's the Red Bull."
However, whilst now quieter, the Red Bull power struggle is still rumbling behind the scenes. This week, it was rumoured that the 'independent' lawyer who investigated the Horner affair is in fact linked with his own Thai allies.
"I stick with my no comment," Marko told Osterreich newspaper when asked about that.
As for those Mercedes rumours, he added: "You should ask Toto Wolff."
Wolff recently even said Verstappen could take Marko, 80, with him to Mercedes. "I'm not thinking about that at the moment," Marko smiled. "But let's see what the near future brings."
What he certainly doesn't hope the near future brings is Newey's sensational switch to Aston Martin, powered by paddock rumours of an 'astronomical' money offer made by billionaire team owner Lawrence Stroll.
"Adrian Newey has won more titles than anyone in the paddock," Stroll's son Lance told Viaplay at Suzuka. "So I'm sure everyone wants him. He's definitely a legend."
Aston Martin team boss Mike Krack, however, denies the story.
"No, no," he said at Suzuka. "We have a very strong technical team with Dan (Fallows), Tom (McCullough), Luca (Furbatto) and Bob Bell recently joined us. So we are quite happy with what we have at the moment."
When asked the same question, team driver Fernando Alonso added: "I focus purely on driving."
