Mercedes F1 chief Toto Wolff insists the German manufacturer was open to supplying McLaren with engines for the 2018 season, but negotiations dragged on for far too long and in the end it was too late to make it a reality.
McLaren approached Mercedes about a deal shortly after pre-season testing in 2017 when it became clear that Honda hadn't managed to produce a reliable or powerful engine.
However negotiations over the details of a deal between the two teams lasted many months and ultimately came to nothing, with McLaren forced to approach Renault for a last minute deal, but that wasn't as a result of Mercedes not wanting to supply the British team, according to Wolff.
"We wanted to give McLaren an engine, the problem is that it dragged on for a long time and we just didn't have the structure in place and the capacity to supply them an engine for 2018. It was simply too late," he told ESPN.
McLaren managed to get a Renault deal after convincing Toro Rosso to surrender its supply in favour of Honda, which means McLaren will now run the same engine as Red Bull, which coincidentally also tried to get a Mercedes deal in 2015, but failed.
Wolff admitted this was partly down to the fact Red Bull had publicly slated Renault and showed a lack of respect toward its partners.
"It is exactly because they are saying it like this and undermining their current partner that they are not having one!" added Wolff. "In F1, like everywhere else in life – be it your private life or business life – it's about compromise and acknowledging your partner's strengths and weaknesses and helping each other out."
