Formula One teams McLaren and Williams have denied that they are in talks with outgoing Mercedes boss Ross Brawn to bring him aboard.
According to the Mirror, team Williams clarified in Abu Dhabi in the wake of renewed speculation on Brawn's future that there had been no conversations with him.
Brawn had been strongly linked with Williams because its current technical director Pat Symonds, a former Benetton colleague during their title-winning years with Michael Schumacher, holds him in high esteem, the report said.
He had also been linked to McLaren, but both sides denied there had been talks, the report added.
That means his only option, if he is to stay in F1, is to re-unite with car giant Honda, returning as McLaren's power supplier in 2015, the report further said.
Sources said Brawn, 58, had decided to quit Brackley after tiring of long-running talks with Mercedes new management, according to the report.
He warned he would only be prepared to stay if he was in overall technical control, which insiders ruled out because of the arrival of Paddy Lowe from McLaren, the report mentioned.