Wednesday 18 February at 17:59 : Feb.18 (GMM) Brazilian oil company Petrobras on Wednesday denied reports it is no longer interested in participating in formula one

The firm was believed to have inked a contract to switch its backing from Williams to Honda in 2009, prior to the Japanese manufacturer deciding to withdraw from the sport

It has been reported that Petrobras, speculatively linked with Bruno Senna and the attempted Honda team management buyout, subsequently decided to pull out of the sport because it was not interested in acting only as a commercial sponsor to a private team

But a Petrobras spokesman clarified that "these stories had no interviews with or statements made by the sports endorsement management or by any other company representative"

"The interest in partnering with a team remains, as long as it is possible to develop and provide high quality and high tech Petrobras fuels and lubricants," he added

However, Petrobras denies it has linked up with 25-year-old Senna, and clarified that it "does not have an agreement signed with Honda, or with a future team yet to be formed" for the 2009 season