Red Bull boss Christian Horner has described his new multi-year deal with the team as a 'natural extension'.
There had been rumours linking the 39-year-old to Ferrari, however, all that speculation was scotched at the end of last month, when news broke that he had agreed terms to extend his
current contract.
Speaking to the official F1 site this week, Horner added that the idea of moving to the Scuderia "never, never at all" crossed his mind.
"It was a natural extension for me - something that was logical. I came into F1 with
Red Bull - Dietrich Mateschitz gave me the opportunity, and that at a quite young age - so it was a pure formality to extend our relationship," he explained.
"What we have achieved at
Red Bull Racing is extremely special and my commitment has always been one hundred percent to the team. The meeting at
Ferrari had absolutely nothing to do with me personally - it was all about the future of F1."
But what of the rumours? "Ha, that is the F1 media that we know. But believe me, it was a meeting over the future of F1 - and it was very well natured and very productive," he added.
Meanwhile, Horner insisted the future for F1 is bright, even if there is concern that the current economic squeeze could see more teams go the way of HRT. The Spanish team of course folded at the end of last season.
“The interest in F1 is as high as ever. We had a fantastic championship in 2012. With the teams having reached an agreement with the commercial rights holder for a long period it is important now to plan into the future.
“We see exciting things happening within F1, with new race venues coming up in future years, so sometimes it's good to sit down with a small group and discuss some of the bigger issues,” Horner concluded.