Toto Wolff believes the rumour about Lewis Hamilton to Ferrari was "placed" as his Mercedes future remains unclear.
The Brit, 38, will see his contract with the Silver Arrows end when the current season concludes and a new deal doesn't appear imminent. Hamilton has been with Mercedes since 2013, winning six world titles, all of which have been with Wolff as his boss.
The Austrian has underlined his happiness with Hamilton as the team attempt to close the gap on the likes of Red Bull and Ferrari, whose team principal has denied any links of a £40m deal with Hamilton. Wolff is confident he and his driver are on the same wavelength and there would be no subtle talks taking place.
He told Sky Sports : "We've had a pact - and we've had that since many, many years - that we wouldn't talk to any other driver before we have taken a decision to stay together or not, so I was never a millimetre in doubt that there were any discussions.
Someone just placed that (story), maybe to, in a way, to play a role in what seemed to be negotiation, but it is not negotiation, it is sitting at a table and saying, 'what is it we need to adapt to in the contract?' So there's nothing to it. The contract was ready in 2013, we've never really changed a lot of words in there… just the dates and the number of marketing days."
Wolff also added: "I think that how it is at the moment with us, we're in a super happy position with Lewis. There weren't any stumbling blocks with the contract negotiations."
Ferrari currently have Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz in the Scuderia with the former long seen as a future world champion. The Italian outfit haven't claimed a world title since 2007 and there wait may well continue with Red Bull so dominant this season.
Martin Brundle earlier in the week suggested that rumours of a Ferrari switch for Hamilton were "mischievous" and saw no reason for the Brit to walk away from his current employers.
He said: “With my Sky F1 cap on and my F1 cap on, I would love to see Lewis in a Ferrari. Him going there and trying to win a championship like Michael Schumacher, I think it would be a wonderful story for next year. I even know where the rumour came from, it’s all been a bit mischievous but I can’t tell you that. But it makes no sense for him to step away from Mercedes at this time.”
