Sir Frank Williams has added weight to Flavio Briatore’s denial that the two team bosses are preparing to trade drivers later this season.
According to rumours that emerged at Indianapolis, Renault’s Briatore is trying to broker a deal with Williams to offload the underperforming rookie Heikki Kovalainen — who, it must be said, performed strongly on F1’s tour of North America.
It was claimed that Williams was seeking a multi-million dollar figure to pay-out Alex Wurz’s contract, with Nelson Piquet Jr in the frame to slip into Kovalainen’s newly vacated Renault race seat.
But Williams told the Austrian daily newspaper Die Presse: “This rumour annoys me particularly.
“It arose from the simple fact that Flavio Briatore very kindly gave me a lift on his private plane, and – like so often – a conspiracy theory was born.
“The whole thing then snowballs and I find myself having to explain whether or not I am going to kick Alex out.”
Williams insisted that he cannot imagine “a single scenario” for which he might consider sacking Wurz in 2007, despite the fact that the Austrian has been conspicuously outperformed by his younger teammate Nico Rosberg.
“Alex is safe,” he added, nonetheless admitting that all team bosses in the pitlane are on the lookout for the “next Hamilton”.
But Williams, 65, praised Austrian Wurz for being a “superb team player” who is underrated.
“He is rock-solid and an unbelievably positive stimulus for every member of the team.
“He is very strong in the head and charming as well — not to mention fast,” Williams said, adding that 33-year-old Wurz has only looked mediocre alongside Rosberg in 2007 because his young German teammate is “simply very, very good”.
