German carmakers Porsche on Monday dismissed news reports saying that Formula One driver Mark Webber was to join them from next year onwards as part of a new sports car project.
Porsche spokesman Oliver Hilger said the reports were “factually wrong” and said the driver issue for the project was no priority at the moment.
Speculation about Webber’s F1 future grew after the latest incident at Red Bull three weeks ago when world champion Sebastian Vettel passed Webber against team orders for victory at the Malaysian Grand Prix. The 36-year-old Australian then had a weekend to forget in China on the weekend and didn’t finish the race.
Germany’s Bild paper said on its website Monday that Webber has already agreed terms with Porsche on a three-year contract from 2014 onwards.
Hilger said Porsche will for now work with the 10 drivers it has on the ambitious sports car project which includes a return to the famous 24 Hours of Le Mans race next year. He said the company will decide at a later stage whether to sign more drivers.
