Analysis: Alonso goes back to the future

Whether the two can repeat their championship successes of 2005 and 2006 remains to be seen, but Monday's announcement that they were getting back together again after a year apart will have delighted Bernie Ecclestone as well as the legion of Spanish fans.

Formula One's commercial supremo now has his top three drivers in different teams for 2008, with the prospect of another memorable scrap after this year's three-way battle down to the wire.

There will also be a strong grudge element, with Alonso eager to do battle on the track with McLaren and his erstwhile teammate Lewis Hamilton after a controversial year of in-fighting.

The double world champion will have another 22-year-old rookie as his teammate next year, but Renault will make sure Brazilian Nelson Piquet junior knows his place now that their favourite has returned.

Alonso will be the main man at Renault - he would surely not have agreed to come back on any other terms after the bitter season he has just had at McLaren - and the team left little doubt about that.

"His abilities as a driver and a team leader are well known, and we look forward to forging another strong partnership," commented team boss Flavio Briatore.

"What's more, he knows the team well and how we operate; he will feel comfortable straight away in this environment."

Alonso joined McLaren at the end of 2006, a season in which McLaren failed to win a race. He finds himself in a similar position at Renault, who drew a blank this year, but there the similarities end.

Neither side mentioned anything beyond 2008 in Monday's announcement, and there remains a suspicion that Ferrari lie somewhere in Alonso's longer-term plans, but next year he will feel at home.

The Spaniard can look forward to playing cards with the flamboyant Briatore before races and enjoying a more Latin style of management.

"Maybe Renault can be part of the top teams again this season. Today's challenge is for Renault to go back to the top of the sheet already in January or February and then come closer to the podiums next season. They have suffered more than enough this year," he said.

The Spaniard, who will now face a surge in expectation among home fans, was hopeful that the good times would return.

"I had to rise to the same challenge last year during the winter season and I am confident that this can happen again," he said. "After that, I will have to have a perfect season and hope for the others not to be too quick."

Alonso, who split with McLaren in November after both sides tore up a three-year deal, said he had never worried about being left out in the cold in 2008 but had been amused by all the speculation.

"It would have never come to me not having a drive for next season," he said.

"Sure it was not like I had to choose between a grey pair of trousers and a black one. We are talking about a very important decision and since I could not get back at the wheel of a car until January or February, there was no rush."

Alonso said he was clear about what he wanted and the decision had taken little more than a week, despite some outlandish reports in the newspapers.

"They were talking about a one-year contract or a three-year contract, even saying that I had been visiting factories, some suggesting I was taking a year off," he said.

"That's when I realised what was going on and it was fun to read the papers every morning."