Coulthard: Alonso won't join Red Bull

Alonso's future in F1 is unclear following his exit from McLaren, and speculation has linked him with a drive at either Renault or Red Bull Racing in 2008.

Coulthard, who has a contract with the team for next year, does not think that Red Bull are a serious option though - and has made it clear that wild rumours suggesting he could be dropped are wide of the mark.

"I cannot see Fernando Alonso joining Red Bull in 2008, and I am 100 percent certain that I will be racing for them next year," Coulthard wrote in his column for ITV. "I was never worried about that, even when the rumours first surfaced about Alonso.

"What has astounded me more than the rumours is that as of November 21 only two journalists have asked me in person about it. I am not exactly hard to get hold of so it amazes me how little research is made by F1 journos to actually get the facts from the horse's mouth.

"The contract I signed with Red Bull is binding, we didn't just sign a piece of paper giving Red Bull the right to put me in any car that they happen to sponsor, it's very specific and says that I have to drive the car in any F1 event it is entered for; I know that this is not always the case with younger drivers.

"That doesn't mean that, just as in a marriage, one party may not want to continue one day, but if that happens, you find a way to bring it to a conclusion. But knowing my own feelings and knowing Red Bull owner Dietrich Mateschitz the way I do, this is simply not a scenario. He is a man of his word."

Coulthard says he was amazed that the Red Bull rumours were fuelled by recent comments from Scuderia Toro Rosso boss Franz Tost - claiming that Alonso was in talks with the team.

Speaking about those remarks, Coulthard said: "One thing that has surprised me from a Red Bull point of view since all the speculation began is that Scuderia Toro Rosso's team principal Franz Tost told the press that there were talks going on between Red Bull and Alonso.

"I cannot understand why he would feel it's appropriate to make a comment about another team, owned by the same parent company, without any authority to do so and no understanding of the contractual situation.

"STR had the same car as us this year but nowhere near the same performance so shouldn't he be concentrating on his own business rather than ours?"