A man close to the negotiations has issued a firm "no comment" on whether Williams’ 2018 driver lineup is now complete.
Although Robert Kubica was earlier a popular contender for the seat, it is now firmly believed that Russian Sergey Sirotkin will become Lance Stroll’s teammate this year.
However, former F1 driver Mika Salo is not commenting.
"I cannot comment on anything about that at all," he is quoted by Ilta Sanomat newspaper.
The Finn, who drove for Ferrari and Toyota, is now the sporting director of SMP Racing — the motor racing arm of the Russian bank SMP that will reportedly back 22-year-old Sirotkin to the tune of $20 million in 2018.