Theissen: I didn’t cost Williams a shot at Lewis

Mario Theissen

Mario Theissen has denied blocking Williams' bid to sign Lewis Hamilton in 2004, saying talks never reached a "serious" stage.

Williams co-owner Patrick Head revealed in the build-up to this year's Championship that Williams had tried to sign Hamilton two years before the Brit made his F1 debut with McLaren.

"We were with BMW at the time and I think Frank (Williams) rang Mario Theissen and said 'look, this guy looks as if he could be pretty good and whatever and he has come to us saying can we help him,'" Head said back in February.

"And I think Mario said they weren't prepared to provide any support and we weren't in a position financially where we could finance his racing."

However, Theissen refutes this, saying his decision never cost Williams a shot at the man many predict will one day be crowned F1's World Champion. Rather, he says, Hamilton always belonged to McLaren.

"There was no serious opportunity," Theissen told Autosport. "We had loose talks, but it was always clear that he was a McLaren protégé. So I never followed it any further.