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Briatore shoots down Alonso's Mercedes switch

Flavio Briatore has ruled out any chance of Fernando Alonso joining Mercedes and believes he will see out his current contract with McLaren.

The two-time F1 world champion has been intensely linked with a switch to Mercedes immediately after Nico Rosberg confirmed his shock retirement last week.

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff confirmed the team would consider Alonso on its list of potential replacements which further fuelled speculation to see the Spaniard exit McLaren after two frustrating campaigns.

Former Renault boss Briatore, who has been a part of Alonso's management team since he entered F1, has shot down rumours of the Spanish driver's switch to Mercedes and a potential title-winning race seat.

"Why is it that whenever a seat becomes available Fernando is always mentioned?" Briatore said to Gazzetta dello Sport. "There is a contract and he will respect it."

McLaren's new F1 chairman Zak Brown was quick to block any attempt by Mercedes to lure away the 2005 and 2006 world champion by reiterating he is happy to see out his current contract which expires at the end of the 2017 season.

Despite Alonso's unwavering desire to lead McLaren's charge back to the front having re-joined forces with Honda, 2017 may prove key on the Spaniard's future beyond next season with the upcoming regulation changes.

Should Mercedes succeed in bringing Alonso alongside Lewis Hamilton, it will mark a decade since their infamous fallout at McLaren in 2007 when the Spanish driver threatened to leak information regarding Spygate and left the team after just one year.

As well as Alonso, a number of current F1 drivers are in the running to take up Rosberg's vacated race seat including Pascal Wehrlein, Valtteri Bottas and Carlos Sainz. 

Zdroj: crash.net