Brazilian GP: Mercedes' Paddy Lowe 'happy' amid Ferrari speculation

Lowe is part of a team who masterminded Mercedes' recent success

Mercedes design boss Paddy Lowe says he is happy with his current job amid speculation about a possible move to Ferrari.

The 54-year-old's contract is up for renewal and Italian media reports have linked him with a switch to Maranello.

Lowe told BBC Sport: "This is a fantastic team that has done an amazing job over the last three years to break all these records in the sport.

"I'm enjoying it more than I ever did in my career so far."

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Lowe joined Mercedes at the start of 2013 and began work in June that year.

The 54-year-old Briton said he "would not deny" his contract as Mercedes executive director (technical) was up for renewal.

But when asked if Ferrari had contacted him, he replied: "No."

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Asked if he would like to work for Ferrari, he added: "I can't answer that."

Ferrari team boss Maurizio Arrivabene has he is not chasing any big-name engineers and sources close to the team say they are not interested in Lowe.

However, Ferrari have failed to catch Mercedes over the past three seasons and a figure such as Lowe could help bridge the gap.

Ferrari president Sergio Marchionne has undertaken a major restructure of the team this year after a disappointing season that has yet to yield a win.

They split with technical director James Allison, a leading aerodynamics expert, in July and replaced him as chief technical officer with Mattia Binotto, whose expertise is in engine design.

Wolff: doesn't want to talk about it - in the media, anyway

Allison, meanwhile, has been talking to all the major teams about future work.

He is a on a year's gardening leave from Ferrari so could not start work for another team until next summer.

Senior insiders at other teams say they believe Allison has already reached an agreement to join Mercedes next year. But asked whether the 48-year-old Briton could join Mercedes, team boss Toto Wolff said he could not comment.

Regarding Lowe's future, Wolff said: "The silly season has gone from drivers to senior personnel. Paddy is a great guy, been part of our success and plays a very important role. It is clear people are discussing contracts and in the media is not the place to talk about it."

Allison is said to have turned down an offer to join Renault and is not going to either Williams or Red Bull, according to sources.

Ferrari's season has taken a downturn since Allison's departure

McLaren were keen on Allison in 2012-13 but sources close to the team say he will not join the team while Ron Dennis remains in charge and that they do not see at this stage how he could fit into their new technical structure, which has been modified by racing director Eric Boullier in the last 12 months.

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