Norbert Haug has hinted that McLaren-Mercedes may be prepared to let Fernando Alonso leave the team at the end of 2007.
Amid claims of blackmail and threats, the Spaniard’s already troubled relationship with the Woking based team hit a new low at the height of the espionage scandal.
Following the recent Belgian grand prix, it was reported by the German newspaper Bild that lawyers for the team had now started work on ending 26-year-old Alonso’s contract after the first of a two-year deal.
Team boss Ron Dennis gave the first hint about McLaren’s willingness to negotiate with Alonso in a press conference following the espionage verdict in Paris.
Referring to the team’s agreements with its current drivers, he said last week: “If there is any variation to those contracts, it will be by mutual agreements.”
Mercedes’ competition director Haug also commented on the story to Bild.
The German said: “If a driver does not want to stay, we have to sit down and talk about it. But it is perhaps the wrong moment in the middle of the championship fight.”
