Grapevine: Williams: Montoya Will Fulfill his Contract

The Williams-BMW team have moved to dampen rumours that Championship challenger Juan Pablo Montoya could move to McLaren-Mercedes at the end of this season.

Team chief Sir Frank Williams stirred up the speculation when he told the Sunday Times that "some people might be surprised" by the final driver line-ups in top teams for next season and beyond.

But a Williams spokesman said: "Frank's position on this remains as it was two or three months ago and what I think he was trying to say is don't assume Juan will move away. We have a contract with Juan until 2005 and we expect it to be fulfilled.

"There is a lot of detail to go through but at the moment the only thing we are concerned about is the race this weekend."

Montoya's signature would be a coup for McLaren, especially if he wins the title, and Williams have a track record for releasing drivers as soon as they have won the Championship. They let Nigel Mansell leave when he won the world title in 1992, saw Alain Prost quit the team after he won the Championship in 1993 and released Damon Hill at the end of his victorious 1996 season.

Montoya has won two races so far this year for Williams but has always expressed an interest in racing for McLaren in the future and is known to be a fan of their engine manufacturers Mercedes.