Toto Wolff has dismissed reports Mercedes could be eyeing a future with Fernando Alonso.
When rumours of the German marque’s flirtation with the obviously frustrated Ferrari driver Alonso first arose recently, team sources immediately reacted by hinting that Nico Rosberg’s contract is in fact on the verge of being extended. But while Alonso’s arrival would have reunited McLaren’s exciting 2007 pairing of the Spaniard alongside Lewis Hamilton, team boss Wolff sounds less keen.
Indeed, when speaking to Spanish reporters at Mercedes’ Brackley factory on Wednesday, he said Hamilton’s rivalry with Rosberg this year cannot be compared with the “dirty” situation that existed at McLaren seven years ago. “We’ll let them keep fighting,” Wolff is quoted by the Spanish news agency EFE, “so long as the war is not dirty. “A conflict like the one between Alonso and Hamilton will not happen here,” he insisted. “If something like that did happen, it would have serious consequences.”
Pondering the Alonso rumours in even more detail, Wolff explained that the Spaniard will not be wearing silver overalls “at least in the short term”. That, Wolff said, is because both Rosberg and Hamilton “have long term contracts”. “Fernando is one of the best drivers on the grid,” he added, “but it is not in our plan to change the formation of the team.”
Image: Mercedes GP
