Autoblog

UPDATE: Official press release from Renault confirming Alonso's return can be read after the jump.

Emerging reports confirm that Fernando Alonso has signed a two-year contract with the Renault F1 Team, with which he won a pair of world titles before defecting to a tumultuous and disappointing year with McLaren.

The contract, according to Spanish newspaper El Mundo, will make Alonso one of the top-paid drivers currently in F1 at a staggering $50 million per season (According to the Wikipedia, Kimi Räikkönen makes $51 million/year). The deal is also reported to include minimal obligations towards Renault's sponsors, an exit clause should Alonso wish to terminate early, and clear, defined #1 status for Alonso over his team-mate.

That role, according to the reports, is set to be taken up by Nelson Piquet, Jr., who will be filling the #2 spot at Renault. The news subsequently leaves current drivers Giancarlo Fisichella and Heikki Kovalainen without confirmed rides for next season, fuelling speculation that Kovalainen could take up Alonso's now-vacant seat at McLaren, especially since news broke of Nico Rosberg's renewal at Williams.

The official announcement from Renault is anticipated shortly, and Alonso is expected to begin testing next year's Renault car at his native Spain's Valencia test track late in January.

[Source: F1-Live.com]

The motorsport press is reporting that Fernando Alonso will announce sometime today whose car he will be driving next season. The two-time world champion was recently released from his contract with McLaren-Mercedes, with whom he had a very tumultuous last season. Rumors have been circulating the paddock as to where he'd be heading as a newly free agent, but Flavio Briatore, his former boss at Renault, has made no secret of the door he's left open and the light he's left on for Alonso to come back home.

Briatore's plans, however, could be stalled by an unexpected intervention from his boss, Carlos Ghosn. Although the Renault-Nissan CEO rarely appears to stick his nose into the day-to-day running of the racing team, sources quote him as saying Renault would not give Alonso a one-year ride. The champion has stated that he'd only sign with Renault for a single season, fueling speculation that he could be headed to Ferrari in 2009, despite Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa doing a great job for the Scuderia and being under contract through 2009 and 2010, respectively.

Briatore is reportedly eager to accept Alonso's terms, but according to Ghosn, "It's three years or nothing." Stay tuned for more news.

[Source: F1-Live.com]

It's official: Fernando Alonso won't be driving next year for McLaren. The double world champion just completed a tumultuous first season out of his contracted three years with the British team, but it was clear for all to see that the driver wasn't happy, and the team wasn't happy with its new driver. As was widely speculated, the unhappy couple has split faster than a Hollywood divorce, which may be the fastest performance McLaren and Alonso have pulled off all season long. Because the feelings were mutual, Alonso won't have to pay the team anything to be released from his contract.

Follow the jump for more analysis and the press release from McLaren, including quotes from Alonso and team principal Ron Dennis.

With the 2007 season of Formula One racing now neatly tied up, the last few remaining seats for next year are filling up fast.

Following Mercedes' release of Fernando Alonso from his contract with McLaren and his earlier reported letter of intent with Renault where he won his two world titles, Alonso looks all but completely assured to be leaving McLaren a season early. That leaves McLaren with an open seat, and few available drivers to fill it.

The question no one seems to be asking is who will fill Alonso's seat at the British team next year. Never shying away from the difficult questions, Autoblog looks at the different options available for McLaren for 2008. Follow the jump to read more.

[Photo: Mark Thompson/Getty]

'You don't want us, and we don't want you.' That seems to be the consensus at Mercedes-Benz regarding Fernando Alonso, who has openly stated his displeasure over the course of the season with McLaren, the F1 team principally owned and powered by Mercedes.

According to emerging reports, the majority of the German automaker's executive board voted that Alonso is no longer a suitable representative of their company, and that his services should not be retained for an additional season. This despite the contract that binds the Spanish driver to the British team through 2008, but if neither party has any desire to uphold the conditions, the contract is rendered rather meaningless.

Mercedes motorsport chief Norbert Haug has also dismissed the speculation that they could prevent Alonso from going to a competing team next season by forcing him into a sabbatical until the contract has run out, saying, "That's not our style." Guess that means the one hurdle between the two-time world champion and a return to happier days at Renault, where he won said titles, has just been conveniently removed.

[Source: F1i.com]

As far as rivalries go in Formula One, the competition between two drivers in the same team is far more intense than that between rival squads. Few have articulated that point quite as vividly as Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton, the two star drivers at McLaren-Mercedes. One's a returning back-to-back world champion, and the other a wet-behind-the-ears rookie if there ever was one. But yesterday's race notwithstanding, the rookie's been acing the champion in classic style. As anyone who's been following this post-Schumacher season can tell you, it's been pretty intense.

Leave it to the Germans to lighten things up a bit. (Yeah, the Germans.) Mercedes, who, don't forget, through its Ilmor subsidiary, supplies the engines for Lewis' and Fernando's cars, put together this commercial. The video after the jump reminds us of two things: (a) a scene from that *ahem* "classic film" Days of Thunder, and (b) just how childish men can get... especially when it comes to fast cars.

[Source: Motor Authority]

Carbon fiber, aluminum...chocolate? Regrettably, this isn't a new development in F1 construction technology, but a motor racing fan's fantasy: a replica Formula One race car, made entirely of chocolate. Incredibly, it wasn't made as a promotional tool for the Belgian Grand Prix, either. A pastry chef from the town of Ibi in the Spanish province of Alicante created this cocoa concoction as a tribute to national hero Fernando Alonso, whom the locals are likely to submit for canonization if he pulls off a third consecutive driver's title this season.

The chocolate McLaren-Mercedes MP4/22 weighs 120 kilograms and measures 220 centimeters long, yet is still capable of accelerating from your plate to your stomach in less than three seconds flat. Just don't expect to be pulling impressive cornering speeds.

[Source: Motorpasion]

Now that's more like it. The best Renault could seem to offer their driving ace Fernando Alonso was a Renaultsport Megane after winning two back-to-back world championships. But now that the defending champ has switched over the McLaren-Mercedes, his patrons have awarded him more suitable wheels: the 650-horsepower Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren 722, a special edition of the supercar of which only 150 are being made. This, apparently, comes as a special treat in addition to the beautiful Mercedes CLS four-door coupe which will reportedly serve as Fernando's daily driver. Not too shabby. Not too shabby at all.

No word yet on what Ferrari will give their new wonderboy Kimi Raikkonen, but it'd be a blast to see Kimi in a 599 GTB square off against Fernando in his SLR McLaren. Oh well, we'll just have to watch them duke it out in Formula One race cars instead. This should be an interesting season.

[Source: Motor Authority]

Want to own the Renault that Fernando Alonso drove during his second championship-winning season? It's up for sale on eBay. Unfortunately, the Renault in question is not an F1 car, but a road-going Renaultsport Megane which Alonso drove for some promotional events, being sold out of Barcelona, Spain.

Retired F1 cars sell for millions, and usually aren't available for purchase until several years later so as to avoid rival teams buying the car and dismantling it for the team's secrets. Billing this as "the next best thing" would be a bit of a stretch, especially considering the €21,500 mark-up over the cost of any other Megane RS for an asking price of €50,000. That's pretty steep, especially considering that you can pretty much bet the car was driven hard, as the 19,000 kilometers on the odometer were racked up partially at special events shuttling celebrity guests around the track.

Good thing Alonso's selling it the hot hatch, 'cause you can bet his new team McLaren-Mercedes (for whom he just began testing) will be putting something better in his driveway.

[Source: eBay via Motorpasion]

The 2006 Formula One season came down to a nail-biting final race in Sao Paulo, Brazil today, as hometown hero Felipe Massa sailed to the checkered flag and reigning champion Fernando Alonso claimed his second consecutive title with a comfortable second place podium finish.

Despite having dominated in the practice sessions on Friday and Saturday, retiring legend Michael Schumacher had to start the race from tenth position, as his team-mate Felipe started from pole. Things then went further downhill for Michael as he blew out a tire and limped back to the pits, then got back out on the course to fight all the way up to fourth place from twentieth. Renault reduced the revs on Alonso's car after Schumacher's blow-out to ensure he would finish in the points and secure the championship (Michael would have had to have won the race and Alonso to have earned no points for the German to win the title over the Spaniard). A smiling Jenson Button took third place on the podium.

With a Ferrari 1-4 and a Renault 2-6, the French team also secured the constructor's championship. That didn't seem to upset Massa too much, though, as the jubilant driver – wearing a special racing suit in his national colors – became the first Brazilian driver to win the Brazilian Grand Prix since Ayrton Senna. Felipe described the victory as the happiest day of his life.

Next season will see Massa stay with Ferrari to be joined by Kimi Raikkonen, whose place at McLaren will be taken by the champion Alonso, as Michael Schumacher retires after narrowly missing the shot at his eighth world championship. This was one of the most exciting seasons in recent history, and while Michael will be missed, the next should be even more gripping as the sport steps out from under the dominant figure's shadow.