WOKING, England (Reuters) - Fernando Alonso said on Friday that Mercedes contacted him after Formula One world champion Nico Rosberg retired unexpectedly in December but he made clear to them that he was tied to McLaren. "Mercedes, after the surprise of Rosberg, had to do a little check of everyone which is understandable," he said. With all the top drivers under contract to rivals, they managed to secure the services of Finland's Valtteri Bottas from Mercedes-powered Williams as team mate to triple world champion Lewis Hamilton. I want to be world champion and that is what I train for, I was running and biking at minus 10 in the middle of the snow for the last month. Vandoorne, who scored a point on that debut, is now his team mate as replacement for 2009 world champion Jenson Button.

Source: The Star February 24, 2017 13:18 UTC