Aston Martin team ambassador, Pedro de la Rosa admits that Jonathan Wheatley could be joining the team... but not just yet.

"At the moment, we remain... our structure is... we're happy with what we have, you know?" the Spaniard told Sky Sports in Suzuka, "how we have organised the team, and Adrian being the team principal.

"But he's more than a team principal," he added, even though team owner Lawrence Stroll previously claimed there was no such role within the team, certainly in the "traditional" sense, "he's actually a managing technical partner. So, that's going to remain the same.

"I mean, Jonathan has left, I mean, we really shouldn't comment on things that are happening," he continued, digging the hole ever deeper. "We don't know why he has left (Audi). We don't know, you know, the situation, really.

"The only thing we know, really, is that we have a team principal, and it's Adrian Newey, you know? And that will remain unchanged," he insisted. "We have to believe in our structure and not change it anymore."

Pushed a little harder, de la Rosa only made things worse when asked if some form of announcement was forthcoming.

"Well, not for the time being, you know?" he stammered. "I mean, it's just... we shouldn't comment on rumours and speculation, because we have to be respectful as well for what Jonathan wants to do in the future."

Over at Audi, Mattia Binotto muddied the waters even further. Just a week after the German team had announced that Wheatley had left - with immediate effect - due to personal reasons, and amidst growing claims of a falling out between the pair, the Italian admitted: "Sometimes things just happen that way. Last Friday, Jonathan told us that he couldn't commit to Audi in the long term for personal reasons.

"We can't judge that," he added, "we have to respect it. As a consequence, we as a team decided to relieve him of his duties. Jonathan was very well integrated into the team and had a significant influence," he insisted.

"We're not looking for a new team principal," added the Italian. "I now need to reorganise and take a closer look at the team's structures."

Meanwhile, clearly relieved to get off the subject of team principals, de la Rosa was asked about Aston Martin's current situation.

"You have to face the public, the people," he said. "When things go right and when things go wrong, you have to be here and explain. It is very important to actually be very transparent, to explain the things in a proper way, because the people want to understand why we are so slow. We are not happy, but they need to know as well that we are fighting and that we are not happy at all.

"There's no time for being frustrated or disappointed, you know," he added, having carefully avoided the actual question. "We just have to work hard, harder than anyone else, but also with a very good strategy."

Check out our Friday gallery from Suzuka here.