Renault’s team principal Flavio Briatore on Saturday confirmed that he had made two-time world champion Fernando Alonso an offer to return to the team with which he won his titles.
McLaren-Mercedes confirmed on Friday that Alonso would not be fulfilling his contract with the team which still had two seasons to run.
There is speculation that Alonso could use Renault as a stop-over for a year before signing for Ferrari for the 2009 season, taking Felipe Massa’s place.
Briatore however has dismissed such rumours. “I have presented a project for the future to Fernando. If his desires coincide with ours, it can happen, ” the Italian is quoted on the website of La Gazzetta dello Sport. Bangkok Post
Renault is keen to recover quickly from a difficult season that saw it drop behind its competitors McLaren, Ferrari and BMW, and reuniting with Alonso is seen as clear opportunity to do just that.
The French car-maker’s president Carlos Ghosn also made it clear that Briatore’s plan had his backing.
“On the Alonso issue it is Briatore alone who decides, ” said Ghosn.
“I have delegated every decision that regards the sport to him. ” ITV.com
Marca said that Alonso, who finished second, level on points with McLaren teammate Lewis Hamilton in the 2007 drivers’ championship, had already rejected a lucrative offer from Japanese carmakers Toyota.
Also in the hunt for the driver, who left McLaren on Friday after completing just one year of a three-year contract, were BMW, Red Bull and Williams, the paper said.
Marca speculated that Alonso would likely opt to join one of the smaller teams on the Formula One circuit, in a transitional phase before eventually securing a move to Ferrari. AFP
Red Bull are set to become a major player in Formula One if, as informed sources suggest, the British-based team are ready to sign Fernando Alonso and Ferrari’s former technical director, Ross Brawn, for 2008. This follows hard on the heels of confirmation on Friday that McLaren and Alonso are to part company prematurely, the only surprise about their joint statement being that it has taken this long for both sides to state the obvious. Alonso has never been happy at McLaren thanks to being beaten on occasion by Lewis Hamilton and the Spaniard’s future has risen to the top of the agenda now that the season has ended. Maurice Hamilton, The Observer
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