Alonso to Renault

Fernando Alonso announced he's agreed to a deal for 2008 with Renault, to the surprise of... ABSOLUTELY NOBODY.

He'll be teamed with Nelson Piquet, Jr., son of former two-time World Champion Nelson Piquet (1983, 1988). Piquet leaves his testing role with Renault and moves up to the race team.

Interestingly, Alonso did not say where he'd be in 2008. Rumors have him already signed for Ferrari, but I discount that. Ferrari knows the value of a strong #1 driver, and with Kimi Raikkonen finally having won the World Championship that eluded him for the past three years, I doubt Ferrari is keen to upset the team by trying a McLaren a la Prost/Senna.

All this leaves Giancarlo Fisichella and Heikki Kovalainen out in the cold. Kovalainen is high on the list for Alonso's vacant McLaren race seat, and Fisi is on the short list for.....nobody. Let's hope Fisi retires gracefully and goes back to Monaco to count his money. I always liked Fisi, but he never had the killer instinct needed to be World Champion. He never got the Ferrari ride he coveted, and when he had the chance (Renault 2005-2006), he couldn't deliver and was trounced by Fernando Alonso.

Piquet is the real deal. He can drive, and may be another Lewis Hamilton-style headache for Alonso. The difference is that Alonso's contract guarantees him #1 status. Of course, this counts for naught if Piquet is outperforming him on the track.

In related news, Ralf Schumacher has announced that he may retire, after being soundly whipped by Tonio Liuzzi in a test for Force India, the former Spyker team. The Billy Carter of Formula One, Ralf has failed to impress with Williams and Toyota. He really should leave before becoming even more of a punch line...