Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has laughed off claims from Red Bull that he has repeatedly called Max Verstappen and his father Jos Verstappen.

Helmut Marko, Red Bull adviser, hinted that Wolff has the intention of luring the F1 star to his team. Marko told Auto Bild: “There is certainly a performance clause in Max’s contract.

“Toto Wolff regularly calls him and his father, Jos."

Earlier this week the Mercedes chief was asked to respond to those claims but insisted that Marko was way off the mark.

“We had quite a laugh about that all the three of us," he said per Planet F1.

“I haven’t got Max’s number and I’ve never had him on the phone.

“As Max said rightly, I've known Jos a long time, I respect him and consider him a friend. We talk about babies and go-karting and when do we put our baby kids in a go-kart and which team are we going to set up.

“There is no talking about Max nor his contract.

“For the right reasons Max is very committed to the Honda-Red Bull situation, and rightly so.

“We are committed to our drivers. We are not planning to engage in any sort of discussions nor do Jos or Max, so I don't know where that came from."

Wolff then added that he sees no reason why Mercedes would want to change their line-up, as Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas brought home a third successive 1-2 result in China.

Hamilton is signed until the end of 2020 and Bottas until the end of this season. Verstappen’s deal with Red Bull ends next season, and a move to Mercedes has been previously touted.

On Hamilton and Bottas' respective deals, Wolff said: “What happens after 2020 will be first discussed with Valtteri and Lewis and once that decision is taken then we will be turning to the paddock, but hopefully the line-up goes forever.”