Force India's Sergio Perez ­refused to rule out a move to Ferrari on Thursday, even though he denied any contact with the Italian Formula One team and said the rumors about his future reflected his form.

The Mexican has been on the podium twice in the last three races and was a ­member of Ferrari's driver academy ­before his Formula One debut in 2011 with Ferrari-powered Sauber.

Kimi Raikkonen, the 2007 world champion, is out of contract with Ferrari at the end of the season and the 36-year-old Finn's future is key to the driver market jigsaw.

Perez, who is strongly supported by Mexican telecoms billionaire Carlos Slim Domit, has been touted as a possible replacement.

"Always when you do well in a race in Formula One, you are straight away linked to Ferrari. It's the biggest team in ­Formula One. So if you are linked to ­Ferrari, it means you are doing well," he told ­reporters at the Austrian Grand Prix.

Asked whether Ferrari had made contact, Perez replied, "No, just rumors."

Those with long memories will recall, however, that in 2012 the Mexican denied receiving approaches from any major teams only weeks before McLaren announced him as their driver for 2013.

He subsequently admitted he had misled reporters.

Perez said Thursday he did not want his team to be ­distracted by the renewed ­speculation around him. He said he was happy at Force ­India and "we don't see a ­reason for change."

But he also made clear that continuing at Force India was not a given.