|
Tuesday, 11 December 2007 |
Alonso Signs For Renault
Fernando Alonso will seek to rekindle his glory days with Renault after confirming that he is rejoining the French team only weeks after calling time at the end of a disastrous one-year alliance with the McLaren-Mercedes squad. The 26-year-old Spanish driver signed for a two-year contract, the finalisation of which represents a major coup for the Renault team principal, Flavio Briatore, who held out against Alonso's request for a one-year deal.
read more
Briatore, unwilling for his team to be used as a staging post on the twice world champion's possible journey to Ferrari in 2009, was adamant it was going to be a two-year deal or nothing and Alonso, facing the possibility of a year's sabbatical as the only viable alternative, signed on the dotted line.
 Alonso, who split with McLaren last month after both sides tore up a three-year deal, claimed he had never been worried about being left out in the cold next season but had in fact been amused by all the speculation. "It would have never come to me not having a drive for next season," he said. "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."
Although refusing to divulge the number of options open to him, he added: "I'm one of the 22 privileged people who drives a Formula One car each year. "I'm even more privileged to be one of those who can afford to leave one great team (McLaren) 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, so the decision wasn't an easy one to make. But I would like to thank all the other teams for their interest to have me work with them. In the end, I chose Renault considering their commitment to the sport and because of their strong track record."
 "The first thing to do is to put the car on the 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," he added. "After that, I will have to have a perfect season and hope for the others not to be too quick."
Alonso remained philosophical about the acrimonious breach with McLaren, taking a more soft-focus view on his relationship with the team than one might have expected immediately after the final race in Brazil. "It's not easy to sum up a season with just a grade or a number," said Alonso. "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 with 20 laps to go in Brazil I still could have won the world championship. Then Kimi [Raikkonen] overtook [Felipe] Massa and Kimi, with this victory, scored the number of points he needed to be world champion. "At the start of the season I would have put my signature for being able to fight until the last laps of the season for a new world title. I would have been more than happy with that."
Alonso said he was clear about what he wanted and the decision had taken little more than a week. "They were talking about a one-year contract or a three-year contract, even saying 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."
The only thing that isn’t clear is how much he’s getting paid. The sports daily AS said the 26-year-old would receive 42 million euros a year over his two-year contract at Renault, which would make him the highest paid driver in the sport’s history. Other Spanish newspapers gave lower estimates. El Mundo said it will be a "stratospheric" salary of 35 million euros, while La Vanguardia put the figure at 25 million euros. Marca reported Alonso would get 20 million euros, and El Pais said the "prodigal son" was looking at 16 million euros per year.
 Nelson Piquet Jr, whose father won three world championships in the 1980s, will complete the team's race driver line-up. The 22-year-old Brazilian spent 2007 as Renault's test and reserve driver after finishing runner-up to Lewis Hamilton in the 2006 GP2 series. He will make his formula one debut at the 2008 Australian grand prix. "First of all I want to thank Flavio and Renault for putting their confidence in me for 2008," said Piquet, who replaces Heikki Kovalainen as the team's second driver.
"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."
|
