Fernando Alonso reveals why he turned down offer to join Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes
FERNANDO ALONSO was contacted about the vacant seat at Mercedes over the off-season - but told them he was happy at McLaren.
Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton could have been team-mates again at Mercedes this year
Nico Rosberg sprung a massive surprise on Mercedes at the end of last season when he announced his retirement just five days after beating team-mate Lewis Hamilton to the F1 World Drivers' Championship.
Mercedes were forced into an unexpected and hurried search for a new driver, which culminated in Valtteri Bottas joining from Williams last month on a one-year contract.
But now Alonso, who helped McLaren launch their new MCL32 car at the Woking base today, has revealed that he too was contacted.
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff also admitted that the Spaniard would have been an exciting choice, but not one that the team could have withstood, given the history between Hamilton and Alonso.
Instead, they negotiated a short-term deal with Bottas to give them further flexibility at the end of the 2017 season.