Alonso offered Renault return

Fernando Alonso has been offered a return to Renault by team principal Flavio Briatore.

Alonso left McLaren yesterday after a controversial first season with the UK-based manufacturer and it has not taken long for the team where he won the 2005 and 2006 world championships to come calling.

“I have presented a project for the future to Fernando,” Briatore told Italian sports daily La Gazzetta dello Sport’s website.

“If his desires coincide with ours, it can happen.”

There is speculation Alonso, 26, could race with Renault for a year before joining Ferrari in 2009.

But Briatore appeared to reject this possibility, saying: “I know how much he can still give Renault. But an agreement for one year would have no sense with an outlook projected for a period of time.”

The other main contenders for Alonso’s services are the Red Bull team.

Renault’s current drivers are Giancarlo Fisichella and Heikki Kovalainen. The team finished third behind Ferrari and BMW in the constructors standings last season.