Insisting that he is retaining his current line-up for 2027, Audi boss, Mattia Binotto believes that speculation over his team's line-up is good.

Points in the last three races have put the German team eighth in the standings, and in the second half of the season it will be looking to overhaul Haas, not too bad for a team in its debut season, especially when it is also a manufacturer.

Despite what many see as a fairly strong driver line-up, which sees the experience of veteran Nico Hulkenberg alongside the raw speed of Gabriel Bortoleto, there has been speculation linking various drivers with the German team, including Oscar Piastri and Carlos Sainz.

Quite why Piastri has been linked is unclear, for his best bet is to remain with McLaren, who have made clear they wish to retain him, but with the continued uncertainty over Max Verstappen's future, who knows what might happen.

Even before Audi took to the track, Sainz was linked with the newcomer, and it is known that his father, who won the 2024 Dakar Rally with the German manufacturer, had pushed for the move.

However, Binotto insists that he is happy with his current drivers, while keen to play down talk of them simply being a mix of youth and experience.

"I'm not reading the newspapers myself, or not reading much, so I'm hearing from you," he told RacingNews365 when asked about the speculation.

"Carlos is certainly a person whom I know very well," he added, having worked with the Spaniard after recruiting him at Ferrari, "and it's somehow easy and obvious to link him to Audi, but I can only say that I'm very happy with the line-up we have.

"Often, when discussing Gabriel and Nico, what I hear is that it is a good mix between experience and, on the other side, the young driver," he continued. "Instead, I would judge them differently. They are two very fast drivers, and I am happy because they are fast drivers, both of them, so we've got a good line-up.

"The fact that other drivers are linked to our team, I can only be very happy with." He added, "because it is showing the credibility of our project is improving.

"It is showing that the perception from the outside that one day we can become competitive is no longer a rumour, but it is a fact."

Indeed, one can understand why the speculation makes the Italian "happy", for it is not so much questioning the talent of Bortoleto or Hulkenberg, but rather the fact that a talent such as Piastri, and even Sainz, is being linked with the new kid on the block.