Toto Wolff has played down his attendance at Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel’s recent 30th birthday party.
A British newspaper this week said Lewis Hamilton’s conspicuous absence at the F1 event in London could have been because he was furious with his Mercedes boss.
Around the time of Vettel’s birthday, the German had to publicly apologise for deliberately crashing into title rival Hamilton’s car at Baku.
In the same period, amid rumours the quadruple world champion is flirting with a switch to Mercedes, the German team’s boss Wolff attended a birthday party at Vettel’s home in Switzerland.
"Sebastian and I are neighbours," Mercedes chief Wolff is quoted by Osterreich newspaper, "so it’s normal that we sometimes visit one another."
When also asked about Wolff’s attendance at Vettel’s party, Hamilton answered: "All I can do is laugh at that one.
"That’s the dumbest question I’ve had so far."
However, Red Bull boss Christian Horner thinks Wolff and Vettel would have been talking business at the birthday party.
"I would think he’s got Toto in his ear saying ’Extend for a year (at Ferrari)’ and then he’s probably got Ferrari saying ’It’s three years or nothing’," he said.