In the tweet sent by the former title sponsor of Haas, Rich Energy hinted at a new deal with hashtags linking to McLaren and its engine partner Renault.

McLaren CEO Zak Brown said he was taken aback when he was sent the tweet, and moved quickly to say that there had been no talks – and would not be – with Rich Energy's chief William Storey over any sponsorship.

"Not at all," said Brown. "I was sent that [tweet], and the guy obviously likes to draw attention to himself.

"I haven't spoken with them. I won't speak with them. I think that is an attempt to get some publicity."

Brown said he does expect McLaren to add more sponsors in 2020, with the team's deal with Brazilian oil company Petrobras expected to be terminated.

He was also clear that a one-off deal between McLaren sponsor Huski Chocolate and Alfa Romeo for this weekend's United States Grand Prix was not a sign that the drinks company was considering moving on.

"We have a long term contract with them," explained Brown. "Finn Rausing [Alfa F1 team owner] and the owner of Huski are from the same country [Sweden] and they do business together.

"So there is just an existing relationship there. They have a lot of people out here this weekend, so they wanted some additional exposure."