Bernie Ecclestone has denied reports that he has urged Red Bull boss Christian Horner to step down from his role.
The Red Bull boss - who has been with the team since their inception in the sport back in 2005 - is currently the subject of an internal investigation into allegations of 'inappropriate behaviour', as first reported by De Telegraaf.
While the investigation is currently ongoing and expected to last quite some time, Horner 'completely' denies the allegations made against him, and will stay on as Red Bull team principal as the investigation takes place.
F1 Insider.com had reported that Horner has been told by Ecclestone that he should simply resign in order to avoid any unwanted damage to his reputation.
Ecclestone is the former chief executive of Formula 1 group, and was involved in the day-to-day running of the sport from the late 1970s right through to 2017.
Horner investigation ongoing
The former F1 head honcho hit out at claims that he had given Horner the advice in a post on Instagram, saying: "To clarify reports that I had urged or suggested that Christian Horner should step down from his position at Red Bull is entirely UNTRUE."
With the new F1 season fast approaching, it has been suggested that the investigation into Horner's conduct could last until at least the first race in Bahrain, throwing a shade over the start of the world champions' title defence.