Coulthard: « Alonso will not join Red Bull »

David Coulthard strongly doubts that former world champion Fernando Alonso will end up at Red Bull Racing next year, as rumors continue to link him with the team.

The future in F1 for the Spaniard is unclear since his split with McLaren. Speculations suggest he may be under contract with Renault or Red Bull Racing in 2008.

Coulthard, who has signed a contract with the team for next year, does not think that Red Bull is a serious option for Alonso. Furthermore, he stated that rumors suggesting he might be left on the sidelines by his team are false.

« I don’t see Fernando Alonso joining Red Bull in 2008, and I am 100% certain that I will be racing for them next year, » Coulthard wrote in his column for ITV.

« I was never worried, even when the first rumors started circulating about Alonso. »

« What surprised me the most is that the rumors started by two journalists who were very poorly informed about me. »

« The contract I signed with Red Bull is complex. We didn’t just sign a piece of paper giving Red Bull the right to put me in any car from another team. This contract specifies that I must drive the Red Bull F1 car in any event. That’s my situation as of today, I know that’s not always the case for young drivers, » he said.

« But knowing my own feelings and those of Red Bull owner Dietrich Mateschitz, I have no worries. He is a man of his word. »

Coulthard claims to have been surprised that these rumors were fueled by recent comments from the Scuderia Toro Rosso boss Franz Tost, claiming that Alonso was in talks with the team.

Coulthard stated: « One thing that surprised me is that the Scuderia Toro Rosso team principal Franz Tost told the press there were ongoing discussions between Red Bull and Alonso. »

I don’t understand why he thinks he has the right to comment on another team, which belongs to the same parent company. He has no authority to do so and no information about my contractual situation.

« The Scuderia Toro Rosso had the same car as us this year, but at no time did it reach a comparable level of performance. He should focus on his own business rather than ours! » Coulthard concluded.