Mateschitz: « Alonso is an option for Red Bull… »

Dietrich Mateschitz dismissed potential talks between Fernando Alonso and the Red Bull team for a possible contract between the driver and the team for next year.

Alonso’s name has been repeatedly linked with Red Bull Racing in recent weeks, even though many expect the Spaniard to end up at Renault after leaving McLaren.

But Mateschitz refuted all these rumors by stating that Red Bull Racing and Scuderia Toro Rosso already had their drivers for the 2008 season. The latter being under contract and the Austrian team cannot financially sustain the presence of a double world champion.

« The speculations in the Italian media about Alonso being on the verge of signing for Red Bull, I can say quite frankly: I don’t understand them, » said Mateschitz in an interview with Motorsport Aktuell.

Red Bull Racing and Scuderia Toro Rosso have four drivers under contract.

« According to what I heard, Alonso is negotiating with other teams for a single year. Such an agreement cannot happen with us. We would prefer to wait a year to prove that we can build a car capable of attracting one of the best Grand Prix drivers for 2009, » he stated.

Mateschitz admitted that Red Bull would be an attractive option for Alonso in the future, but clarified that the team could only make such a decision in 2009 with a long-term vision.

From his point of view, it makes sense for him to seek a contract that offers him the most flexibility possible.

But this leads us to a conflict of interest between the driver and the team. We are looking for a two-year contract with an option for a third year, concluded the Red Bull Racing boss.

The latter has Mark Webber and David Coulthard under contract for next year, while Scuderia Toro Rosso will have Sebastian Vettel and Sébastien Bourdais racing.