Bye Bye Renault? Copyright AP Photos/Luca Bruno

First, the reporters drew hint from him wearing a red shirt - which incidentally happened to be the jersey of the Spanish Football National Team who just won the Euro Championship. The media thought it was a "Come Get Me" sign from Fernando Alonso (who is a Spaniard) to Ferrari.

Now, Alonso himself has somewhat thrown in the towel for a possible podium finish this season, opting only to help the Renault team to get to at least a 4th position in the Constructors' Championship - signifying perhaps the 2-time world champion's lack of confidence in the Renault R28.

Alonso, who won back to back championships with Renault during Seasons 2005 and 2006, has expresed interest in moving to the Ferrari outfit since he left McLaren in 2007 after a traumatic year which saw him engaging in mind-games and squabbles with ex-teammate Lewis Hamilton. However, with Ferrari firmly holding on to their two drivers Kimi Räikkönen (who won the championship right after moving to Ferrari) and Felipe Massa, it seemed rather unlikely that there would be any seats left for Alonso.

 But Felipe Massa should probably be rather afraid right now with any of such rumours after he had a disastrous British GP which saw him spinning at least 5 times and finishing last in the order. Although he has a contract with Ferrari till 2010, there is nothing to stop Ferrari from replacing him if there is a need to. 

Alonso could also set his sights on the seat of the other Ferrari driver, Räikkönen. The Finn is rumoured to be looking at retirement plans after his contract expires with Ferrari in 2009.

But if Alonso's move to the Scuderia Ferrari team is unsuccessful, he has plenty of options to look at (and most of them offer better cars than Renault at this very moment in time judging from the Constructors' Standings). BMW will announce their drivers' lineup very soon, and Robert Kubica is remaining coy on his future while Nick Heidfeld would be desperate for a renewal from Dr. Mario after a dismaying 1st half of the season. Kubica and Alonso are very good friends, so the harmony in the team would possibly be better than that of McLaren 07.

Another option would be the Red Bull seat left by David Coulthard, who will retire as an F1 driver at the end of this year. The oldest driver on the grid has announced his retirement at Silverstone last week and will remain in the Red Bull team to serve in the developmental area. The Red Bull team is looking strong, with  24 poins in the Constructors' Championship and a podum finish by Coulthard in the Canadian Grand Prix. However, how likely it would be for Alonso to join Red Bull will have to be seen, since there are many rumours going around that Toro Rosso's young gun Sebastian Vettel is the most likely candidate to replace Coulthard.

 Now, with German sports magazine Sport Bild claiming the possibility of Santander Bank moving from McLaren to Ferrari would very well signify a Spanish presence in the Ferrari team. Santander sponsored McLaren in 2007 when Fernando Alonso moved over.

But right now, Alonso's plans will remain a mystery to us, at least until the Italian Grand Prix when he would reveal his plans. Incidentally, the Italian Grand Prix is the home race of Ferrari and traditionally is the time when the red team would announce their drivers' line up for the next season. So adding two and two together... 

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Copyright (C) 2007 Alain Georgette / Copyright (C) 2006 Frantisek Hliva. All rights reserved.

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