Perhaps now the pieces are finally beginning to fall into place. Renault's signing of Carlos Sainz triggered news that Toro Rosso and McLaren will swap engine suppliers in 2018, the one going to Honda, the other to Renault.
Immediate thoughts on this. One, a pairing of Sainz and Nico Hulkenberg looks mighty strong; two, unless he can reach a deal elsewhere, sadly Robert Kubica will not be returning to Formula 1 in the near future; three, it would be just Fernando Alonso's luck for Honda finally to come good with Toro Rosso - after which it would seem but a small step for Red Bull to follow the same route...
Alonso, like Chris Amon in a previous era, has traditionally made poor decisions when changing teams - even if, at the time, there seemed good reasons for them. It looked, for example, like a sound plan to sign with McLaren for 2007, and it appeared that way, too - after five years with middling Ferraris - to go back there in 2015, when McLaren was again to be with Honda, perhaps reviving the glory years of the partnership.