27/08/2017
NEWS STORY
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has strongly denied that his team had talks with Sebastian Vettel.
The Austrian responded to reporters after countryman, and fellow Mercedes director, Niki Lauda had previously said there had been some "dialogue".
"We discussed it briefly once with him," Lauda told Sky Sports F1 following the news that the German has signed a new three-year deal with Ferrari despite rumours of an pre-agreement with Mercedes.
"The more competitive Ferrari goes, the less the reason he would want to leave," added Lauda. “So therefore we stopped right away a couple of months ago."
"There was zero discussions with Sebastian around a contract between him and Mercedes," insisted Wolff, when told of Lauda's comment, the Austrian suggesting that the pair had merely exchanged pleasantries in the paddock.
"Sometimes you are like, 'What are you doing? What's happening?'," he suggested. "No discussions took place. Zero!
"Have you ever got me not saying the truth in the five years I have been here?“ he continued. "I don't deal in lies, what I am saying to you is there were zero conversations with Sebastian over a contract.
"Niki has a chat over coffee with Sebastian down there and says, 'What are you doing, by the way, for the next three years?' and Sebastian says, 'Well, I'm thinking about it.' They had a conversation. They didn't have coffee, actually. I think it was just crossing each other."
Check out our Sunday gallery from Spa, here.