Lauda: Hamilton didn't destroy room or lie about relationship with Rosberg

Non-executive Mercedes chairman Niki Lauda has issued a statement refuting earlier claims he made about his team's driver, Lewis Hamilton.

Lauda had previously told Servus TV that Hamilton had holed himself up in a room at the Mercedes offices, refusing Lauda entry, and saying he was going to trash it after crashing during qualifying for the Baku Grand Prix.

"Lewis Hamilton did not in any way damage a hotel room or his private driver room at the circuit during the race weekend in Baku," the statement read, according to Pablo Elizalde of Motorsport.com, "and Lewis Hamilton did not lie about his relationship with teammate Nico Rosberg."

Initially, Lauda told Red Bull's Servus TV that Hamilton "destroyed" a room at the Mercedes offices.

"He did it because he had crashed. He'll have to pay for that. You can count on that," Lauda had said. "He told me I couldn't come in because he was going to destroy everything. This is how it was."

Lauda also said that Hamilton had lied about having a good relationship with Rosberg. Despite being teammates, the pair have famously clashed with one another before - both on and off the track - with the most recent incident occurring when Hamilton bumped Rosberg on the final lap at the Austrian Grand Prix in early July.