British hopeful Oliver Rowland says he is in talks with Williams regarding a race seat with the Grove-based outfit in 2018, but the team denies any discussions.
On Friday, Rowland's management team issued a statement claiming he is a late contender for a drive coveted first and foremost by Robert Kubica and Paul di Resta, with Sergey Sirotkin a possible dark horse.
"F1 Renault development driver Oliver Rowland is in talks with Williams about securing a seat for Formula 1 in 2018.
"The 25-year-old hasn't been considered an option until now, with Williams still undecided of who to put in the car next year."
Rowland confirmed his team's statement.
"My team is in talks with Williams, as they are with other teams. British car, British driver it fits well.
"Lots of drivers seem to be in the frame for 2018, so we will just have to see what happens."
The comments were news to Williams however , with a representative of the team telling Motorsport.com that there had been no discussions with Rowland and that the 25-year-old was not in contention for a race seat in 2018.
Gallery: The beautiful wives and girlfriends of F1 drivers
Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter
Aston Martin’s painful descent to the back of the Formula 1 grid shows no sign…
F1 championship leader Kimi Antonelli topped a chaotic final practice session for the 2026 Monaco…
Full results from Free Practice 3 for the Monaco Grand Prix in Monte Carlo, round…
Detroit, the automotive capital of the world, enjoyed its first Grand Prix on this day…
Monaco has a habit of exposing pressure points inside F1 teams, and Haas found its…
Ferrari’s Monaco Grand Prix weekend took an unexpected turn on Saturday morning after the team…