Alonso did his own deal, says Renault manager
(China Daily)
Updated: 2005-12-22 07:11

"It's surely going to hurt the motivation of the Renault team."

Others asked why Renault had not offered to match McLaren's terms and, if they had, why the Spaniard had still decided to leave a team where he had been groomed as the golden boy.

McLaren's move was a complete surprise and their second coup in a week, coming close after the announcement that Vodafone were leaving Ferrari to become the Mercedes-powered team's title sponsor in 2007.

It also sent the 2006 driver market into overdrive nearly three months before the start of the season on March 12, with the attention now focused firmly on McLaren's Kimi Raikkonen and Ferrari's Michael Schumacher.

Raikkonen has been linked to Ferrari for some time, with the Italian team open in their admiration of the Finn's qualities.

Runner-up this year with seven wins, his contract with McLaren expires at the end of 2006 and he can expect to command a hefty price tag.

Ferrari are unlikely to pair him with seven times champion Schumacher, if only because the financial burden of their combined salaries would be immense, who has a contract to the end of next year.

If Schumacher retires, Raikkonen would be an obvious successor. However he could also stay at McLaren in a super-team or consider other approaches.

Italy's Gazzetta dello Sport newspaper said Renault and BMW had also made him offers.