31/01/2015
NEWS STORY
Ron Dennis has dismissed claims that Fernando Alonso has a performance clause in his contract with McLaren.
The Briton's denial comes in the wake of Mercedes boss Toto Wolff's admission that the Spaniard is top of the German team's shopping list should Lewis Hamiloton - who is in the final year of his contract - opt not to re-sign.
The lure of a title challenge with Mercecdes, coupled with the uncertainty of the competitiveness of the McLaren-Honda, leading to speculation that Alonso has clauses in hjis contract which would allow him to walk under certain conditions.
"No McLaren driver has ever had performance clauses in his contract," Dennis told the BBC, "and that's the case with Fernando."
After five season with Ferrari, in which he finished championship runner-up three times, Alonso is underrstood to have asked to be released by the Italian team, which subsequently took the opportunity for a complete reshuffle.
Whilst McLaren's previous partnership with Honda resulted in numerousd titles, the fact that the Japanese manufacturer is a year behind its rivals, coupled with a worrying lack of logos on the MP4-30, has led to speculation that Alonso's tenure at Woking might not be long term.
It is the Spaniard's second stint with the Woking team, the previous ocassion witnessing one of the most controversial incidents in the sport's history and culminating in McLaren's exclusion from the standings as a result of what came to be known as Spygate.