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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]