Mercedes has warned Lotus that there will soon come a time where it will have to cut its engine supply deal for next year in order to take on Manor as a new customer.
Lotus is currently supplied by Mercedes, but is waiting on Renault to confirm a buyout of the team in order to run it as a works outfit next year. In such circumstances, Manor will switch from year-old Ferrari engines to Mercedes, opening up the possibility for Ferrari to take on a Red Bull supply deal.
A Renault announcement is expected next week and Wolff said it would need to come soon in order to allow Mercedes to set up its deal with Manor.
"We are not in a position to give Renault or Lotus a deadline, but there needs to be a moment where Manor needs to know what is happening and we need to know to whom we are supplying engines," he said. "We are very close to that moment and that decision. If they don't take the decision, we will decide."
Wolff said supplying Manor with engines appeals to Mercedes.
"We like Manor a lot because there is a competitive edge to the whole story if Manor gets the right chassis and the right engine it would be a pretty interesting narrative about how the team develops. For us at the moment we are a little bit on standby because we need to understand what happens at Lotus as one of our customers and move from there. This is where we are."