A dispute is bubbling between world champions Mercedes and rival F1 team McLaren over an engineer.
Spanish media reports, including El Mundo Deportivo newspaper, claim that McLaren recently signed a deal to woo Loic Serra from his role as Mercedes's head of vehicle dynamics.
The report claims that Mercedes, who are not commenting, then succeeded in convincing Serra to stay, with McLaren apparently regarding the move as breach of contract.
Marca, another Spanish sports daily, claims that McLaren is taking legal action against Mercedes as a result of the dispute.
Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff would not comment other than to say that Serra is still at Mercedes, while a McLaren spokesman said: "The matter is the subject of legal proceedings.
"We will not comment until the process is complete," the spokesman is quoted as saying.
The championship resumes on August 28 in Belgium following the summer break.
