Vettel's mistake meant he had to settle for second, just 0.051s behind Lewis Hamilton's Mercedes, having been up on the Brit's time for most of his own lap.
When asked about the rumours by Sky Sports, Lauda said: "All bulls--, if I may say that".
Valtteri Bottas lines up in third for Mercedes with Ferrari driver Kimi Raikkonen fourth on the grid. "Positioning can help a lot here and being on the clean side of the grid is usually an advantage and then the race will be about looking after the tyres".
Ferrari teammate Kimi Raikkonen is fourth, ahead of Red Bull driver Max Verstappen, who past year won in Barcelona to become F1's youngest race victor at age 18.
It marked an eventful one hour for the four-time world champion who was told to stop his auto just moments after he left the pit lane following an engine change in between final practice and qualifying.
"Maybe it was at the oval (where) I learnt how to go quick on the straights", said the Spaniard, who will leave Barcelona on Sunday night for Indianapolis to compete in the Indy 500 on May 28.
"I'm super proud that we can get back up there".
The 35-year-old Spaniard, yet to finish a grand prix this season and who failed to even start in Russian Federation after an engine issue on the formation lap, suffered an oil leak before grinding to a miserable halt in front of his home fans. "Very tricky conditions today", said Raikkonen.
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Vettel's qualifying very almost ended in Q1 when Ferrari told him to stop on-track after an engine issue, the team having replaced the power unit in his vehicle following final practice.
(AP Photo/Manu Fernandez). Red Bull driver Daniel Ricciardo of Australia waits in his team garage during the third practice session for the Spanish Formula One Grand Prix at the Barcelona Catalunya racetrack in Montmelo, Spain, Saturday, May 13, 2017. "It was a really good lap up to the final chicane".
"It's tough. I really thought this weekend could be good but today it's all come crashing down". One side of the garage had one or two mechanics and the other side was completely crowded, like bees hovering around the vehicle.
Vettel leads Hamilton in the championship by 13 points after four races.
"It's tough but it's more tough for McLaren, who brings updates trying to find a millisecond here and there and we can not even run".
Behind, Kimi Raikkonen, who had been quickest in final practice, took fourth - 0.066secs off P3 and 0.239secs off Vettel in the sister auto.
After the qualifying session, Hamilton was again all praises for the team. "We still suffered a but from that but, apart from that, things have been running smoothly, the vehicle feels good, so it's up to me to make it better".
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