Dr Helmut Marko has confirmed that Red Bull firmly rejected Sebastian Vettel's attempt to return to Formula 1 in 2025.
As speculation swirled around Sergio Perez's future last year, the team's former four-time world champion reached out about a potential comeback.
That revelation comes despite Vettel recently maintaining that he is enjoying retirement.
"I have really enjoyed the last few years, including the time with the children," Vettel told RTL. "Hopefully the children have too.
"Maybe the mood will change again, but at the moment things are still going very well."
However, Auto Bild reports that Vettel remains interested in a return, with journalist Ralf Bach claiming that the 37-year-old "is not completely finished" with Formula 1.
"He says to his confidants that he still feels fit enough," Bach wrote. "He will continue to look for a comeback opportunity."
Bach also suggested that Vettel's 2022 retirement from F1 may not have been entirely voluntary.
"Aston Martin did not want to extend his contract, and others did not want to give him a new one," he stated.
The report further claims that Vettel approached Audi about joining its upcoming Formula 1 project but was turned down by both Sauber and Audi executives.
As for Red Bull, Marko freely admitted that Vettel had expressed interest in returning to the team as Max Verstappen's teammate in 2025.
"Sebastian would have liked to drive alongside Max for us," he said. "But that wouldn't have made sense – also to protect him.
"Max would have clearly beaten him and damaged Sebastian's reputation. I couldn't and didn't want to allow that."
Former Red Bull driver David Coulthard, who retired in 2008 at the same age Vettel is now, urged him to accept that his time in F1 is over.
"He should give it up and stop dreaming that he will be faster after taking a few years off," Coulthard told Speed Week. "He wasn't quite at his best at the end at Aston Martin.
"The stopwatch doesn't lie," he added.
