Ferrari is being "careful" before definitively deciding or announcing that Adrian Newey will join the Maranello based team.
That was the coy message given by Ferrari chairman John Elkann in a new interview with Corriere della Sera newspaper, amid rumours departing Red Bull technical guru Newey might actually end up at Aston Martin.
It is widely believed that Newey, 65, has at least signed some sort of pre-agreement with Ferrari, but the Briton is also suddenly linked with Aston Martin or even a return to McLaren.
When Elkann was asked about the rumours, he hinted that a definitive deal is not yet done.
"There are many evaluations and you have to be careful," he told the Italian publication. "The right moment must be found in which to do things like this, as happened with (Lewis) Hamilton.
"With Lewis there was a convergence of intent that allowed us to work together. So there are many possibilities, Newey or others, but you have to carefully evaluate whether the conditions are there.
"We need to understand the level of motivation and the ability to create new things rather than replicate others," Elkann insisted.