Audi has ruled out entering Formula One in the near future, saying it is "absolutely not a topic" currently.

Audi has been linked with a return to F1 since the beginning of the V6 turbo era, most recently with Red Bull last year. One of the main motivations behind introducing the current V6 turbo engines was to encourage more manufacturers to join Formula One but so far only Honda has done so since 2014.

Stefan Knirsch, the board member responsible for technical development, says Audi is happy to focus on the World Endurance Championship and DTM.

"F1 for Audi is absolutely not a topic," Knirsch told Autocar. "We are focusing on the World Endurance Championship and DTM. We want to win Le Mans in a championship where electric and hybrid technology plays a very major role, while we are in discussions with the DTM about when we can introduce this kind of technology."

Audi's parent company Volkswagen had changed its opposition to entering F1 after long-standing chairman Ferdinand Piech stepped down last year. Audi was seen as a viable engine partner for Red Bull before VW became embroiled the emissions scandal around its road cars.

Last week, Volkswagen's head of motorsport Wolfgang Durheimer ruled out any of his brands joining F1 because of the uncertainty around F1's future regulations.

"On the regulations front there are a lot of rumours around the engine side and the supporting technology side," he said. "Before you commit the kind of money needed you must see five years of rules stability -- there can't be the possibility of rules changes, of more or less engine cylinders coming in, or the hybrid system changing away from technology you are developing on road cars.

"On the ownership side there are also big questions the sport must answer. If you are a big business making a big investment you expect to have some influence on the set-up, with an assurance the present ownership will last. In F1 it seems the owners will not be there forever and that creates some instability."