Mercedes boss Toto Wolff expressed in no uncertain terms his frustration and anger with unnamed parties whose behavior has caused Esteban Ocon to face a temporary dead end in F1.
The Mercedes protégé - who for all intents and purposes will remain a Mercedes protégé for the foreseeable future according to Wolff - found himself with two good deals to choose from just a month and a half ago.
Mercedes and Ocon had apparently agreed in principle a deal with Renault, only for the Frenchman to be beaten to the seat alongside Nico Hulkenberg by Daniel Ricciardo.
Wolff did not hold back on his feelings about what had gone on behind the scenes at the time of the discussions with Renault - or perhaps those with McLaren - and what ultimately happened thereafter.
"I think what not only us but what some of the teams are doing with the young driver programme is to raise the level and to have the good kids in Formula 1, the ones that win championships, and deserve to be there," Wolff told Sky Sports F1.
"And what’s been going on this year in July and August was just unbelievable, there was so much politics in the background, hidden agendas, lies.
"Not all of the good kids are going to end up in cars and probably Esteban will be one of them, but we’ll look after him, he’s one of the future stars.
"In July, he had two offers on the table with contracts and it was just a matter of choosing which one was the right one, and he ended up not having any anymore because people just simply don’t have the balls to stick to what they say.
"But it’s no problem, we have to sort it out with Esteban, he’s a strong guy, he has been through difficult moments in his career, we’ll fix this one as well."
Wolff's words are practically a confirmation that Ocon won't be on F1's grid in Melbourne in 2019, but they may also imply the certainty that he will be a works Mercedes driver sometime in the future.
It was believed that Mercedes could eventually release its driver from his contractual obligations in order to help his cause and open up an opportunity for an F1 seat in 2019.
Wolff clearly dismissed that prospect however, insisting Mercedes will hold on to its talented young driver.
"Not in a million years," Wolff said.
"Because one day he’s going to be in a Mercedes and win races and championships and show all the others out there they made a mistake."
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