News Scan: Fernando Alonso Signs A Letter Of Intent To Rejoin Renault In January 2008
Oct 11, 2007
McLaren
Fernando Alonso has signed a letter of intent to rejoin Renault starting next January (2008), according to emerging reports.
Germany’s Bild newspaper said the document is the precursor to a definitive three-year contract (2008-2010), but only if the reigning world champion can successfully negotiate an end to his current McLaren deal.
Alonso is currently under contract to McLaren also for 2008, with an option to continue in 2009. F1-Live.com
In other words, if there is to be a settlement someone is going to have to pay to get Fernando out of McLaren. The reality is that Alonso is unlikely to be able to afford that himself - as he was not a big earner at Renault before he moved to McLaren - and he would thus be relying on Renault to pay that for him - and that does not sound like the kind of thing that Renault boss Carlos Ghosn is going to sanction because he wants cost-effective F1 rather than the bills for purchasing stars. It is possible that Flavio Briatore might find a sponsor to pay for it but at that kind of money it would require a lot of space on the car. The others that could do it (Toyota) may not be very attractive to Alonso or think they are not ready to take him (BMW).
Fernando might like to be fired but there would need to be suitable grounds for a dismissal and McLaren cannot afford to do that before the end of the World Championship lest the watchdogs from the FIA come busting through the door, claiming that the team is manipulating the World Championship. But firing Fernando does not make much sense for McLaren because if there is an opportunity to offset any collateral damage from his departure it would be logical for the team to take it. GrandPrix.com
According to German newspaper Bild, the letter of intent is a prelude to starting a three-year contract for the team from January.
Reports today suggest that Fernando Alonso has signed a letter of intent linking him with a return to Renault next season, if he can negotiate a release from his McLaren contract. MyF1Blog. WordPress
