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Paddy Lowe in demand as Mercedes talks near

Paddy Lowe is reportedly being chased by several teams as he prepares to decide whether he will commit to Mercedes or consider options elsewhere beyond 2017.

The 54 year-old, who holds the Executive Director (Technical) role within Mercedes, is credited as a key spur for the Brackley team's huge success during the V6 Hybrid era having joined in 2013.

However, Mercedes is understood to be coming under pressure to retain Lowe's services, with several teams expressing an interest in luring him away from outfit, which has dominated the sport since 2014.

Reports in the Italian media suggest he has received a serious offer that outbids Mercedes from at least one unidentified team, with the likes of Williams, Ferrari and Renault linked to a potential swoop.

McLaren, however, insists it is not the team in question, with a team spokesperson saying, 'We have absolutely no plans to rehire Paddy, since we are entirely satisfied with our current senior engineering management team'.

Of the three aforementioned teams, however, it is a return to Williams that is earmarked as a potentially logical solution given the fresh investment on its way courtesy of Laurence Stroll, whose son Lance will race for the team in 2017. Lowe started his career at Williams in 1987 and stayed until 1993 before joining McLaren.

Renault, meanwhile, remains in the midst of its technical restructuring, as is Ferrari following the loss of its technical director James Allison, who in turn has been linked to a return to the sport with Renault.

Mercedes - still reeling from the loss of its new champion Nico Rosberg - is understood to be keen to begin talks with Lowe soon, with a decision to come in the following weeks. 

Zdroj: crash.net