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."
Gallery: The beautiful wives and girlfriends of F1 drivers
Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter
Williams suffered a bruising time on Sunday in Sao Paulo, with Alex Albon unable to…
McLaren team principal Andrea Stella has insisted that the squad has no regrets about their…
On this day in 1989, Williams' Thierry Boutsen secured his second F1 win when he…
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner hailed Max Verstappen’s sensational Sao Paulo Grand Prix victory…
Carlos Sainz was left scratching his head after a disastrous Sunday at the Sao Paulo…
Fernando Alonso braved both physical agony and mechanical challenges in the Sao Paulo Grand Prix,…