'Alonso and Renault already have preliminary agreement'
- GPblog.com
It went fast this week. Due to the departure of Sebastian Vettel at Ferrari, a real shuffle took place which finally stopped at Renault. The announced departure of Daniel Ricciardo in 2021 freed up a spot there. A veteran seems to have the best papers to take that place.
The options for Renault seem limited at first sight. The young talents from their academy are apparently not yet ready for Formula 1 and given the way in which they said goodbye to Nico Hülkenberg, it is also unlikely that the German will return to the French team.
Of course, Vettel is also available now, but from both sides there doesn't seem to be much enthusiasm for cooperation. For Vettel it would mean a huge step back, both sportingly and financially, and Renault will be looking for someone who is motivated to take the team by the hand.
Confirmation Alonso will be a long time coming
And so one ends up with Fernando Alonso. The two-time world champion has not hidden his desire for a return and the good relationship with Renault could be called unique in his career. Should Fernando Alonso return to Renault in 2021, it would be the third time in his career that he enters into a partnership with the Enstone team.
The French magazine Auto Hebdo even dares to claim that there is already some sort of 'pre-agreement' between the two parties. If we can believe the Spanish newspaper MARCA, we will have to wait a long time before this is confirmed. There will be a lot of negotiations to be done, among other things about Alonso's salary.