Grapevine: Manager denies Alonso free to leave

On Tuesday, The Times quoted a source close to McLaren as saying that team boss Ron Dennis had told Alonso that he was free to leave the British squad at the end of 2007.

"My understanding is that he's been told he can go because they're so fed up with him. Ron is just very pissed off with both of them [Alonso and Lewis Hamilton]," the source told the newspaper.

Alonso's contract with McLaren runs out at the end of 2009, but speculation has been rife about his future following last Saturday's incident with teammate Lewis Hamilton, when the Briton disobeyed orders from the team to allow the Spaniard to pass in order to have an extra lap in qualifying.

Alonso was later penalised for holding up Hamilton, losing his pole position and having to start from sixth place. The Spaniard finished the race in fourth while Hamilton won to stretch his lead in the championship.

Hamilton said after the Hungarian Grand Prix that Alonso had not talked to him since then.

The two-time champion told Spanish TV right after qualifying that the mood was sombre at McLaren because it was him and not Hamilton who had grabbed pole position.

Spain's best-selling newspaper Marca on Monday wrote Alonso had given McLaren an ultimatum, and that the world champion was already looking for a way out of his contract.

Marca also wrote Alonso's manager had already met with Renault team boss Flavio Briatore.

On Tuesday, almost every Spanish newspaper reported about The Times' article, but Alonso's manager Luis Garcia Abad said he had talked to Dennis and the Briton had denied the story.

"I talked to Dennis this morning (Tuesday) and he told me what has been published it's not true. His intention is that the contract is fulfilled," Garcia Abad told El Pais newspaper.

Garcia Abad also downplayed reports about Alonso's exit at the end of the season, saying there aren't many options available if the world champion wants to keep on winning.

"To us, it's not a matter of money," he added. "If it were for the money, we would be in another team. We are in McLaren to win races and the third title. That's our goal. And in these moments there aren't that many options: just McLaren and Ferrari."