Nico H🌄ulkenberg has dismissed a report linking h🥃im with a possible switch to Red Bull for 2020 as “fake news”, saying the story was “made up”.

Following a difficult start to the seaso😼n for Pierre Gasly that has seen him struggle to match Red Bull teammate Max Verstappen for pace, a report emerged in Italy suggesting team advisor Helmut Marko had sounded out Renault’s Hulkenberg as a possible r𒁏eplacement.

Marko was quick to dismiss the rumour as “nonsense”, with Gasly saying in Montreal that he had no desire🅠 to waste time on a “buಞllshit” story that was “bad journalism”.

Hulkenberg ಞwas also quick to brush off the report when asked about it on Thursday.

“I think I heard it cꩵame from the Italian side,” Hulkenberg said.

“It was made up. It’s basically fake news.”

Asked by mahbx.com how it felt to be link♑ed to a front-running team, Hulkenberg joked that it “felt great for my eg💃o”.

꧙“Not really. It didn’t do 𒁏anything to me. My confidence level is OK, even without it.”

Hulkenberg heads into this weekend’s Canadian Grand Prix looking to end a five-race run without points, with his last run-out in Monaco being compromised by a clash with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and a ꦿmistimed Safety Car, leaving him 13th.

“I didn’t feel there was much I could do about it, 🥂just from the moment when Charles sliced my tyre open, that was the race basically over forﷺ me,” Hulkenberg said.

“We pitted, the others gained a stop under the Safety Car. It justꦚ all went wrong basically in that moment, and there’s not much in my control from there.

“We will bounce back♍. I’m feeling fairly strong. The ꦦrecord here, I like this place and this track, and I feel our package is definitely competitive for fourth-best team.

“I ൲think we know what t𒀰o do this weekend with both cars.”

Additional reporting by Julianne Cerasoli.