Mercedes boss Toto Wolff dismissed ridiculous rumors that there had been some conniving behind the scenes over the winter of some big players to set up a breakaway F1 series.
According to Auto Motor und Sport, It all started with a quiet but well-attended lunch in glitzy Gstaad in Switzerland back in February.
Gathered around a lavish dish of rosti and fondue, the well-heeled group included Wolff, Bernie Ecclestone, former Ferrari boss Luca di Montezemolo and Racing Point co-owner Lawrence Stroll.
Needless to say, the celebrity sighting was later interpreted as a meeting of the bigwigs, with every indication pointing towards a covert collusion as the premises of a 'pirate' F1 series were born.
Queried on the anecdote in Melbourne, Wolff laughed off the conspiracy theory.
"Lawrence Stroll had invited me to Gstaad," said Wolff.
"Bernie has a chalet there, and so it turned out that we all met there.
"The pirate series is nonsense," he added more seriously.
"We will fully support Liberty in their Formula 1 campaign."
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