Alonso returns to Renault

[richard]

http://www.topgear.com/content/news/stories/2481/

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Alonso confirms return to Renault

By Pablo Elizalde Monday, December 10th 2007, 12:57 GMT


Two-time world champion Fernando Alonso has confirmed he will return to the Renault Formula One team next season.

Alonso, who won two titles with Renault in 2005 and 2006, left the French squad at the end of last year to drive for the McLaren team.

The Spaniard had a three-year deal with McLaren, but he parted company with the British outfit at the end of this season after his relationship with the team deteriorated.

A note on his personal website on Monday confirmed he will return to Renault next year.

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Renault confirm Alonso, Piquet for 2008

By Pablo Elizalde Monday, December 10th 2007, 13:17 GMT


The Renault team have confirmed Fernando Alonso and Nelsinho Piquet as their racing drivers for the 2008 season.

Alonso, who announced his move on his website on Monday, returns to the French squad after one season at the McLaren team, which he left two years before the end of his contract after a turbulent season.

Alonso will have Piquet, a test driver for the team in 2007, as teammate next year, after Renault confirmed an all-new line-up for 2008.

"Fernando and Nelsinho will form one of the most exciting driver line up of 2008," said Renault's managing director Flavio Briatore.

"We are delighted to be welcoming Fernando back home to the team where he enjoyed his greatest success. His abilities as a driver and a team leader are well known, and we look forward to forging another strong partnership.

"What's more, he knows the team well and how we operate; he will feel comfortable straight away in this environment.

"Nelsinho is one of the most promising young talents in motorsport. After his success in GP2, he has spent a year learning the ropes as our test driver and getting to know the team ; he is now ready to step up to the next level."

Alonso, 26, won two titles with Renault in 2005 and 2006 and the Spaniard is now hoping for another successful chapter.

"I am delighted to be returning to Renault," said Alonso. "This is the team where I grew up as a driver in Formula One. Now it is time for us to begin a new chapter together.

"I am very excited about working with this great team once more, and confident that together we can move back to the front of the field. Renault had a difficult year in 2007, but I know that the team has real strength in depth. I am confident they can produce a fast and competitive car and be back at the top in 2008."

Piquet, son of three-time champion Nelson, will make his Grand Prix debut at the age of 22.

"First of all, I want to thank Flavio and Renault for putting their confidence in me for 2008," said Piquet. "It is a fantastic opportunity to make my Formula One debut with one of the top teams on the grid, and alongside one of the very best drivers in the sport.

"This drive is something I have been working towards since the end of 2006, and I am proud that my performances as test driver have earned me this position. I am looking forward to teaming up with Fernando, and learning from him. As a rookie, there is no better way to start your career than to have a double world champion as your reference point."

Frenchman Romain Grosjean, reigning 2007 F3 Euro Series champion, will be the team's test driver.

The announcement leaves Giancarlo Fisichella and Heikki Kovalainen currently without a drive for next year.

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Q & A with Fernando Alonso

 Monday, December 10th 2007, 13:25 GMT


(Conducted and provided by the Renault F1 Team press office)

Q: Fernando, you are the new ING Renault F1 Team Driver for 2008. Happy?

Fernando Alonso: "Yes, very. Everybody knows what a great team ING Renault F1 Team is and what they have accomplished in Formula One.

"You can't forget that together, we won the championships back-to-back in 2005 and 2006. I had the chance to be part of this success. It is one of the greatest teams, supported by important companies. A team that knows what it takes to win."

Q: Has it been a long wait? How did you feel the past few weeks while waiting for the decision to be made?

Alonso: "To be honest, the first three weeks of November, I was on a much needed vacation and during which I disconnected from Formula One. The decision to choose a team did not take more than a week, as me and the people close to me were clear about what we wanted."

Q: Why did you choose Renault? How many options did you have?

Alonso: "Options... Well, to tell you the truth, we do know that's not easy. I'm one of the 22 privileged people who get to drive a Formula One car each year.

"And I'm even more privileged to be one of those who can afford leaving one great team and end up in another great team, while there are a lot of drivers who never get the chance to drive a Formula One car.

"The decision hasn't been an easy one to make. I would like to thank all the other teams for their interest to have me work with them. Like I said before, I chose Renault in the end considering their commitment to the sport and because of their strong track record."

Q: Do you realise how much media attention you have drawn?

Alonso: "Not really, because like I said the first three weeks I was on holiday, but as soon as we started to look at our options we realized that all the newspapers and almost every website reported that we had already been in contact with all the teams.

"They were talking about a one-year contract or a three-year contract, even saying that I had been visiting factories, some suggesting I was taking a year off. That's when I realised what was going on and it was fun to read every morning the papers."

Q: But don't you think it's normal for people to be eager to find out where you were going to race or if you'd end up without a drive?

Alonso: "Well, it would have never come to me not having a drive for next season. Sure it was not like I had to choose between a grey pair of trousers and a black one. We are talking about a very important decision and since I could not get back at the wheel of a car until January or February, there was no rush.

"I understand why people were so eager. The fans have always been the ones to support me. I still remember how much people have been there for me this year and how much it touched me. Maybe I never saw what they really were told, because there was some sort of competition between the newspapers as to which one of them would print the news first. Too much has been invented."

Q: What grade would you give your past season with McLaren?

Alonso: "It's not easy to sum up a season with just a grade or a number. What is certain is that 2007 has been a very good year for me in spite of what people think.

"I don't like that people forget that 20 laps before the race lap in Brazil I still could have won the world championship. Then, Kimi overtook Massa and Kimi, with this victory, scored the number of points he needed to be World Champion.

"When you take this into account, at the start of the season I would have put my signature for being able to fight till the last laps of the season, for a new world title, I would have been more than happy."

Q: What will happen next season?

Alonso: "This is a question we all ask and I believe nobody can answer for certain. You know that teams like Ferrari will always be favourites. Also, the teams who have had problems adjusting to the Bridgestone tyres will hopefully have solved their problems and will be back at the top.

"Maybe Renault can be part of the top teams again this season. Today's challenge is for Renault to go back to the top of the sheet already in January or February and then come closer to the podiums next season. They have suffered more than enough this year."

Q: Will you fight again for the world title next season?

Alonso: "We will see what can be done... We shouldn't put the cart before the horse. The first thing to do is to put the R28 on track in January and then start working thoroughly in order to get to the first Grand Prix of the season with the best car possible.

"I had to rise to the same challenge last year during the winter season and I am confident that this can happen again. After that, I will have to have a perfect season and hope for the others not to be too quick."

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Alonso cautious on Renault's chances

By Jonathan Noble Monday, December 10th 2007, 13:38 GMT


Fernando Alonso is remaining cautious about Renault's chances of returning to the top of the Formula One field next year, on the back of their disappointing 2007 campaign.

Renault only finished on the podium once this year and, although Alonso is hoping his return to the French car manufacturer can help them rediscover the form that helped them to titles in 2005 and 2006, he is well aware that things will not be so straightforward.

Speaking about his prediction for 2008, Alonso said: "This is a question we all ask and I believe nobody can answer for certain. You know that teams like Ferrari will always be favourites.

"Also, the teams who have had problems adjusting to the Bridgestone tyres will hopefully have solved their problems and will be back at the top.

"Maybe Renault can be part of the top teams again this season. Today's challenge is for Renault to go back to the top of the sheet already in January or February and then come closer to the podiums next season. They have suffered more than enough this year."

Alonso believes that he will have more of an idea of Renault's potential following early tests of the R28 in January.

"We will see what can be done... We shouldn't put the cart before the horse," he said. "The first thing to do is to put the R28 on track in January and then start working thoroughly in order to get to the first Grand Prix of the season with the best car possible.

"I had to rise to the same challenge last year during the winter season and I am confident that this can happen again. After that, I will have to have a perfect season and hope for the others not to be too quick."

Alonso also made it clear that taking a sabbatical in 2008 was never an option for him, even though there were no guarantees he would find a race drive.

"Well, it would have never come to me not having a drive for next season," he said. "Sure it was not like I had to choose between a grey pair of trousers and a black one. We are talking about a very important decision and since I could not get back at the wheel of a car until January or February, there was no rush.

"I understand why people were so eager. The fans have always been the ones to support me. I still remember how much people have been there for me this year and how much it touched me.

"Maybe I never saw what they really were told, because there was some sort of competition between the newspapers as to which one of them would print the news first. Too much has been invented."

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Analysis: Alonso goes back to the future

By Alan Baldwin Monday, December 10th 2007, 15:16 GMT


Fernando Alonso's return to former champions Renault has re-united what was once Formula One's perfect pairing.

Whether the two can repeat their championship successes of 2005 and 2006 remains to be seen, but Monday's announcement that they were getting back together again after a year apart will have delighted Bernie Ecclestone as well as the legion of Spanish fans.

Formula One's commercial supremo now has his top three drivers in different teams for 2008, with the prospect of another memorable scrap after this year's three-way battle down to the wire.

There will also be a strong grudge element, with Alonso eager to do battle on the track with McLaren and his erstwhile teammate Lewis Hamilton after a controversial year of in-fighting.

The double world champion will have another 22-year-old rookie as his teammate next year, but Renault will make sure Brazilian Nelson Piquet junior knows his place now that their favourite has returned.

Alonso will be the main man at Renault - he would surely not have agreed to come back on any other terms after the bitter season he has just had at McLaren - and the team left little doubt about that.

"His abilities as a driver and a team leader are well known, and we look forward to forging another strong partnership," commented team boss Flavio Briatore.

"What's more, he knows the team well and how we operate; he will feel comfortable straight away in this environment."

Alonso joined McLaren at the end of 2006, a season in which McLaren failed to win a race. He finds himself in a similar position at Renault, who drew a blank this year, but there the similarities end.

Neither side mentioned anything beyond 2008 in Monday's announcement, and there remains a suspicion that Ferrari lie somewhere in Alonso's longer-term plans, but next year he will feel at home.

The Spaniard can look forward to playing cards with the flamboyant Briatore before races and enjoying a more Latin style of management.

"Maybe Renault can be part of the top teams again this season. Today's challenge is for Renault to go back to the top of the sheet already in January or February and then come closer to the podiums next season. They have suffered more than enough this year," he said.

The Spaniard, who will now face a surge in expectation among home fans, was hopeful that the good times would return.

"I had to rise to the same challenge last year during the winter season and I am confident that this can happen again," he said. "After that, I will have to have a perfect season and hope for the others not to be too quick."

Alonso, who split with McLaren in November after both sides tore up a three-year deal, said he had never worried about being left out in the cold in 2008 but had been amused by all the speculation.

"It would have never come to me not having a drive for next season," he said.

"Sure it was not like I had to choose between a grey pair of trousers and a black one. We are talking about a very important decision and since I could not get back at the wheel of a car until January or February, there was no rush."

Alonso said he was clear about what he wanted and the decision had taken little more than a week, despite some outlandish reports in the newspapers.

"They were talking about a one-year contract or a three-year contract, even saying that I had been visiting factories, some suggesting I was taking a year off," he said.

"That's when I realised what was going on and it was fun to read the papers every morning."

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Renault thankful to Fisichella, Kovalainen

By Pablo Elizalde Monday, December 10th 2007, 15:28 GMT


Renault's managing director Flavio Briatore has paid tribute to Giancarlo Fisichella and Heikki Kovalainen, after confirming they will not continue with the team in 2008.

Renault announced on Monday that Fernando Alonso and Nelsinho Piquet will race for the French squad in 2008, replacing Italian Fisichella and Finn Kovalainen.

Kovalainen has been linked with a move to Toyota or McLaren, while Fisichella tested for Force India as he aims to secure a drive for next year.

Briatore wished both drivers the best for the future following their exit from Renault, and praised them for their efforts during the troubled 2007 season.

"I would like to take this opportunity to thank both Giancarlo and Heikki for their hard work throughout a long and difficult year," said Briatore.

"We expected to have a car capable of winning races, but that didn't prove the case. Rather than let their heads drop, both drivers worked even harder to turn the situation around.

"Giancarlo's experience was a crucial factor in helping us improve our performance, and he leaves the team after making a vital contribution to our two championship years in 2005 and 2006. We thank him for making these special moments possible for the team, and wish him well for the future.

"Heikki's rookie season included some challenges, but he coped with all of them and came out a better and stronger driver. He has shown everybody in F1 that he is a fast, intelligent and engaging driver, who is definitely capable of winning races in the future.

"We are proud to have given him his start in Formula One, and wish him the very best for what is sure to be an outstanding career."