Wurz out at McLaren?

UPDATE Refusing to be a McLaren test dummy any longer, Wurz is now rumored to be heading for the failing German DTM series where two of the four manufacturers recently pulled out. 12/12/05 According to a whisper, long time tester Alex Wurz has been told he won't be needed by McLaren at Jerez this week.

The rumor may be linked to the Austrian's imminent decision — whether to stay at Woking in 2006, or accept BMW Sauber's 'Friday' seat offer.

But Germany's 'Bild' newspaper reckons 31-year-old Wurz is not the only blip on Munich based BMW's 'Friday' radar. It is reported that Gary Paffett and Lewis Hamilton – both with links to McLaren and Mercedes – were also approached about the job.

Paffett is the DTM champion, while Hamilton dominated the competitive F3 Euroseries in 2005.

Mercedes' Norbert Haug said the speculation is a 'compliment' to the German carmaker's new driver generation.

'''(But) all contracts will be honored,'' the competition director insisted.