Lauda: How is it Mercedes fault if Ferrari mucks about with spaghetti?

Straight talking Niki Lauda has defended Mercedes' success in the current Formula 1 era, and questioned why Ferrari much around with spaghetti rather than make their cars more competitive.

Lauda reacted angrily amid claims about Mercedes making F1 'boring' by dominating too easily, "How is it Mercedes' fault if Ferrari mucks about with spaghetti rather than improve their car on the track?"

Reportedly after complaints from fans and the Maranello marque itself, however, Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff, who is painstakingly politically correct, issued an apology on Lauda's behalf.

"Everyone knows Niki's special connection to Ferrari and his passion for formula one," he said of the F1 legend and fellow Austrian. "That's why he is sometimes very direct and says things that sound sharper than they were actually meant.

"We at Mercedes don't want to offend anyone," Wolff told Bild newspaper. "We respect Ferrari and look forward to exciting duels on the track. We take Ferrari as a challenger very seriously and have to work hard to defend our lead."

And he concluded: "The fact that they don't only muck about with spaghetti was made very clear to us in Malaysia."

Lauda's comments this week, however, were not limited just to Ferrari. The famous triple world champion was also asked about reports linking Mercedes with a supply of turbo V6 engines to arch-rivals Red Bull.

Lauda is quoted by Autosprint: "We can only give engines to four teams, and all have long-term contracts. Also, [Dietrich] Mateschitz has always showed some animosity towards Mercedes. I don't know why but it's the reality."