Full Throttle

According to the German newspaper Bild-Zeitung, and relayed via Grand Prix Magazine, executive board of Mercedes-Benz have ruled that reigning World Champion Fernando Alonzo is history, a goner, tostada! (allegedly toast in Spanish)

Kai Ebel, the television presenter for Germany’s RTL coverage of formula one, said Alonso’s departure from McLaren is unlikely to be dependent on the outcome of the 2007 title climax in Sao Paulo.

“Win or not, he will leave anyway,” he predicted.

In an interview with the Hamburg magazine ‘Stern’, Mercedes’ competition director Norbert Haug did not deny the possibility of an early split with Alonso.

“If someone expresses his absolute resolve to not want to do something, then there are ways to manage that,” the German said.

“We have a contract, and after the last race of the season we will see what the situation is,” Haug added.

The Haug interview with Stern occurred a while ago and might not reflect Alonzo’s current status or what may have occurred with the executive board in Stuttgart. And the Bild-Zeitung hasn’t exactly been the paragon of truth, justice and the F1 way, they’ve printed some outlandish stuff in the past that amounted to nothing more than vaperware.

We’ll see what develops. For my money I’d say he’s done, but it’s not my money.