Mike Krack has brushed aside intense speculation suggesting he might be Audi's next major F1 hire.

This week, Sauber's now completely Audi-owned entity appointed ex-Ferrari leader Mattia Binotto, who will serve as both chief operating officer and chief technical officer.

That followed the sudden departure of Andreas Seidl and Oliver Hoffmann. And while Alessandro Alunni Bravi may officially represent Sauber as team boss at FIA press events, he holds merely a 'team representative' role.

Recent reports disclosed that despite internal conflicts, Seidl and Hoffmann concurred on recruiting Mike Krack as team boss.

Currently leading Aston Martin, Krack has past ties with Sauber and previously collaborated with the Audi-affiliated Volkswagen group through the Porsche motorsports division.

At Spa-Francorchamps, Bravi mentioned that Binotto would finalize the decision regarding the team boss.

"I think Mattia starts on the first of August," he said. "He will have time to understand if the current management team and the entire organisational structure is what is necessary to bring our group up to F1 speed."

Addressing the Audi rumours and speculation about his recent visit to Sauber's Hinwil base in Belgium, Krack downplayed the situation.

"I think a lot of this comes about because I worked there for a very long time," he explained to the Mirror.

"I have a lot of friends still there and I see these friends from time to time. Maybe there's an element of people putting one and one together - why is he in Switzerland? Because the godfather of my son is working there. If I have friends there, I cannot abandon my friends because of that."

Krack reiterates his current commitment to Aston Martin.

"I have here the project of a lifetime, where you have someone investing so much to become a big team and to be part of that is an opportunity for everybody," stated the Luxembourger. "So my focus is on this project.

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'25, and '26 is a huge challenge in front of us. That is where my thoughts are." body check tags ::