at least its official at last!!!!!!

 

"hes coming home, hes coming home, Alonsos coming home

 

shame he's not GOING home :teresa:

Finally Alonso 's leaving that $h!t of team. :cheer:

indeed. he should have just stayed at renault

shame he's not GOING home :teresa:

who knows? :rolleyes:

i may have the answer:

 

Renault team principal Flavio Briatore has made an offer to Fernando Alonso to return to the team that helped him become the sport's youngest double world champion in 2006.

 

But Briatore, quoted in Italian newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport, said any deal would hinge on whether Alonso, who was released from McLaren this week, could agree terms on the length of a contract.

 

"We will see what happens from here until Tuesday," said Briatore.

 

"I have introduced a plan for the future to Fernando and if his desires coincide with ours it can happen.

 

"I know how much he can still give to the Renault, but an agreement for a year would not make sense."

 

Renault is keen to recover quickly from a difficult season that saw it drop behind its competitors McLaren, Ferrari and BMW, and reuniting with Alonso is seen as clear opportunity to do just that.

 

The French car-maker's president Carlos Ghosn also made it clear that Briatore's plan had his backing.

 

"On the Alonso issue it is Briatore alone who decides," said Ghosn.

 

"I have delegated every decision that regards the sport to him."

 

Alonso however is believed to want a one-year contract, leaving him free to seek fresh opportunites in 2009, possibly with Ferrari.

 

This issue may prove a deal-breaker for the 26-year-old who has also been linked to Red Bull – which moved into the frame by dint of its huge funding and track record for paddock coups.

 

BUt while rumours of a RBR tie-up with Alonso refuse to go away, sources close to the team suggest a deal for next year is unlikely given the unstabilising affect a one-year deal with the McLaren refugee could have on its current set-up following a season of sustained forward momentum with David Coulthard and Mark Webber.

 

Red Bull's billionaire team owner Dietrich Mateschitz said on Saturday that his team was committed to its current drivers.

 

“We will see how things go," he told Gazzetta.

 

"Coulthard and Webber are our drivers 100% for 2008. But in F1 nothing is for sure, things are only very probable.”

Click here for Renault merchandise.

So it basically depends on how much he wants to drive for Ferrari.

Ferrari don't need Alonso

 

Massa is the ideal #2, fast but not a threat to Kimi over a season, Ferrari are best off having a lead driver and a support driver and 2 big names in the team would cause friction and Kimi and Alonso would take points off each other

WELL

the main problem between Alonso and Renault is that Fernando wants only a year with Renault and Flavio wants 2 years.

fernando will not get a drive at ferrari tho.

 

every1 seems to know that apart from him

Representatives of the Renault F1 Team have been requested to appear before a hearing of the FIA World Motor Sport Council in Monaco on Thursday, December 6, 2007 to answer a charge that between September 2006 and October 2007, in breach of Article 151c of the International Sporting Code, the Renault F1 Team had unauthorised possession of documents and confidential information belonging to Vodafone McLaren Mercedes, including, but not limited to the layout and critical dimensions of the McLaren F1 car, together with details of the McLaren fuelling system, gear assembly, oil cooling system, hydraulic control system and a novel suspension component used by the 2006 and 2007 McLaren F1 cars.

 

oh fuc,k

I wonder where they might have got that from?

 

I hope Alonso will join them and they get kicked out for a year. :kink:

According to Radio 5 Live, FIA have information showing Renault had a high profile "insider" within McLaren who continued to feed Renault with information throughout this season.

 

Now, I wonder who at McLaren could have possibly had the motive or have been so disenchanted, that they felt the need to (illegally) pass information to another team???? :rolleyes:

 

If this story is substantiated then I hope a certain F1 Driver is banned from the sport for Life! :angry:

 

 

 

 

 

 

im sorry, but i find it hard 2 believe.

 

coz if Renault had access 2 all this data surely this years car wouldn't have been so $h!t?

I wonder where they might have got that from?

 

I hope Alonso will join them and they get kicked out for a year. :kink:

He will wait and see what will happen to Renault,and then he'll decide :rolleyes:

Renault Explains:

 

Following the notification of the FIA for the ING Renault F1 Team representatives to appear in front of the World Council, the team wishes to clarify the situation.

 

On the 6th September 2007 it came to our attention that an engineer (Mr Phil Mackereth) who joined the team from McLaren in Sept 2006 had brought with him some information that was considered to be proprietary to McLaren. This information was contained on old style floppy discs and included copies of some McLaren engineering drawings and some technical spreadsheets. This information was loaded at the request of Mr Mackereth onto his personal directory on the Renault F1 Team file system. This was done without the knowledge of anyone in authority in the team. As soon as the situation was brought to the attention of the team's technical management, the following actions were taken:

 

• The information was completely cleansed from the team's computer systems and a formal investigation was started.

 

• We promptly informed McLaren of the situation and immediately after the FIA.

 

• Since then we have constantly and regularly kept McLaren and the FIA informed on all relevant findings.

 

• Mr Mackereth was immediately suspended from his position.

 

• The original floppy discs were impounded and sent to our solicitors for return to McLaren.

 

Our formal investigation showed that early in his employment with Renault Mr Mackereth made some of our engineers aware of parts of this information in the form of a few reduced scale engineering drawings. These drawings covered four basic systems as used by McLaren and were: the internal layout of the fuel tank, the basic layout of the gear clusters, a tuned mass damper and a suspension damper. Subsequent witness statements from the engineers involved have categorically stated that having been briefly shown these drawings, none of this information was used to influence design decisions relating to the Renault car. In the particular case of the tuned mass damper, these had already been deemed illegal by the FIA and therefore the drawing was of no value. The suspension damper drawing hinted that the McLaren design might be similarly considered illegal and a subsequent clarification from the FIA confirmed this based upon our crude interpretation of the concept.

 

ING Renault F1 Team have co-operated fully with McLaren and the FIA in this matter to the extent that the team has invited McLaren's independent experts to come and assess the team's computer systems and inspect the cars and the design records, to demonstrate that this unfortunate incident has not in anyway influenced the design of the cars.

 

ING Renault F1 Team have acted with complete transparency towards McLaren and the FIA, being proactive in solving this matter and we are fully confident in the judgment of the World Council.

The latest on RenaultGate:

 

Renault has escaped without penalty at Thursday’s FIA World Motor Sport Council hearing in Monaco – despite being found guilty of possessing technical secrets leaked from rival McLaren.

 

In a ruling that mirrored its initial verdict on the McLaren/Ferrari spy case, the WMSC deemed that Renault had breached Article 151c of the International Sporting Code, but saw fit not to impose any sanctions.

 

No explanation was given for the decision, but the FIA said it would publish the reasoning behind the verdict tomorrow (Friday).

 

“An extraordinary meeting of the World Motor Sport Council was held in Monaco on December 6, 2007,” the governing body said in a statement.

 

“The World Council found Renault F1 to be in breach of Article 151c of the International Sporting Code but imposed no penalty.

 

“Detailed reasons for this decision will be issued on December 7, 2007, and a transcript of the proceedings will be published as soon as possible thereafter.”

 

When it spared McLaren from a penalty in July, the WMSC cited “insufficient evidence” that the team had used or benefited from confidential technical information belonging to Ferrari.

 

But after new evidence came to light it dramatically overturned that decision, excluding McLaren from the 2007 constructors’ world championship and fining the team $100 million.

 

It explained the volte face by saying the new evidence showed that McLaren had committed a more serious breach than was originally appreciated, and that a number of its staff had demonstrated an intention to use the information to its advantage even if it could not prove that they had actually done so.

and in other far more important news:

 

Fernando Alonso has rejoined Renault and will partner Nelson Piquet Jr at the team in 2008.

 

The 26-year-old double world champion returns to the team he raced for in 2003-2006, winning 15 races and back-to-back world titles.

 

Renault was thought to be the most likely destination for Alonso to resurface after he ended his McLaren contract two years early last month after a turbulent single season at Woking.

 

Alonso himself confirmed his return to Enstone on his personal website before Renault issued an official statement on Monday afternoon announcing its new pairing.

 

"Fernando and Nelsinho will form one of the most exciting driver line-ups of 2008," said team boss 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."

 

Piquet Jr's promotion from test driver to a race seat means he will be following in his three-time world champion father Nelson Sr's footsteps.

 

Briatore says the 22-year-old, runner-up to Lewis Hamilton in the GP2 Series in 2006, is now ready to make the step up to a race role after a year of testing duties.

 

"Nelsinho is one of the most promising young talents in motorsport," he said.

 

"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."

 

After successive double title triumphs, Renault scored just a single podium finish in 2007 and ended the year a distant third in the constructors' championship.

 

But its president Bernard Rey is confident the team, aided by its new line-up, can bounce back to the front in 2008.

 

"The entire team has been working flat out over the past months to return to the front of the field, and a top-line driver line-up is essential to achieving our targets.," he said.

 

"Our recent technology investments, the return of Fernando Alonso to the team, and the promotion of Nelsinho Piquet, all signal our intent to return to winning ways next year."

 

Renault has also announced that 2007 F3 Euroseries champion Romain Grosjean will be take over from Piquet as chief test driver.

 

The announcement ends both Giancarlo Fisichella and Heikki Kovalainen's relationship with the team, with both now on the lookout for a seat for 2008.

 

Fisichella is in contention for a spot at Force India, while Kovalainen is believed to be one of the favourites to replace Alonso at McLaren.

 

i told y'all so.

 

:dance:

 

pitty kovy has been chucked he was a great driver. hope we farm him to McLaren for a year then steal him back after Piquet has his year. Should shut his father up

Coooooooooooooooooool :cheer: