Christian Horner has revealed it is "very, very likely" Mark Webber will be signed up to stay at Red Bull in 2012.
Australian Webber, one of the only key members of the Austrian team not already contracted for the foreseeable future, has struggled this season alongside Sebastian Vettel.
Speculation has linked Lewis Hamilton with a high-profile switch from McLaren, but team boss Christian Horner told Servus TV that the most likely outcome is a new deal for Webber.
"Well, that’s very, very likely," said the Briton.
"We have agreed to sit down a bit later and then focus on next year," Horner told the Red Bull-linked Austrian broadcaster.
As for the Hamilton rumours, Horner smiled: "I really don’t think blue is his colour. For Red Bull, the most important thing is the harmony."
But according to former F1 winner Johnny Herbert, Red Bull should think hard about its driver choice for 2012.
"He (Webber) is showing none of the fire that he showed last season, which helped him fight Vettel and make the championship so exciting. Until he finds it again I do not see him competing for wins," he wrote in a column for The National.