Fernando Alonso has told McLaren-Honda his "only goal" is to win the world championship with the team despite a vacancy at Mercedes.
Nico Rosberg's retirement from F1 with immediate effect has left one of the most coveted seats on the grid available for 2017. Alonso has been linked with a move as he goes in search of his third drivers' title, with the 35-year-old named by Toto Wolff as one of the options Mercedes has to consider to replace Rosberg.
However, addressing McLaren at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking on Tuesday, Alonso reiterated his commitment to the team.
"I believe in this project, I'm committed and I want to be World Champion with McLaren-Honda," Alonso said. "That's my only goal".
Alonso currently has one year remaining on his McLaren contract, having joined the team from Ferrari ahead of the 2015 season. Former McLaren boss Ron Dennis made clear Alonso had a straight three-year deal with no clauses to trigger an early exit.
While Alonso's statement will go down well at the MTC, Mercedes had already placed Valtteri Bottas and Pascal Wehrlein at the top of its shortlist of drivers to replace Rosberg, with an initial approach to Williams for Bottas made over the weekend.
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