Montezemolo dismisses Vettel reports

Ferrari president Luca Cordero di Montezemolo has denied reports claiming that Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel has agreed to join the team in 2014 by saying he does not want "two roosters in the same henhouse".

Reports suggested the 25-year-old Vettel, the two-time defending world champion, had been lined up to switch to Ferrari in 2014, with Felipe Massa retaining his seat next season as a stop-gap.

That would see Vettel become the team-mate of his chief rival for the 2012 world title, Fernando Alonso, who is contracted with the Maranello team until 2016, but Montezemolo argued that would go against the team's long-standing policy of having a clear number one driver on their team.

"Today the problem is not with drivers," he said on the team's official website. "2014 is still to come but I don't want to have two roosters in the same henhouse, rather two drivers who race for Ferrari and not for themselves.

"I don't want problems and rivalries, which we didn't have between (Michael) Schumacher and (Eddie) Irvine, between Schumacher and (Rubens) Barrichello, between Alonso and Massa or Massa and Schumi or Massa and (Kimi) Raikkonen."

Red Bull have also rejected the report, with team advisor Helmut Marko telling German newspaper Bild: "These are untruths. This report is simply not right."

Team boss Christian Horner told BBC Sport: "Sebastian Vettel, without a shadow of doubt, will be part of the Red Bull Racing team in 2014."

Vettel moved ahead of Alonso in the 2012 driver's championship standings following Sunday's Korean Grand Prix, with his victory and Alonso's third place translating into a six-point advantage.

Alonso clashed with Lewis Hamilton when the two were allowed to compete as rivals while team-mates at McLaren, and is said to have a clause in his contract which gives him approval over the identity of his Ferrari team-mate. There has been speculation over the future of Massa with Ferrari after a series of indifferent performances, but he has improved of late.

Montezemolo sounded positive about the Brazilian's future. He said: "I'm happy to see Felipe Massa back at a high level: tomorrow (Tuesday) I will meet him at Maranello, we will have a chance to talk about his future and then I will take a decision."