The race to be Alonso’s Renault deputy
The Spanish sports daily Marca quotes the Roman veteran as telling journalists last week at Jerez: "If I was the second driver, Fernando would already have signed for Renault."
Also in the frame to be double world champion Alonso's Renault teammate for 2008 was Heikki Kovalainen, who is understood to have been deemed by team boss Flavio Briatore as an inappropriate 'number two' driver.
The Finn is now strongly linked with the vacant McLaren seat, as well as with Toyota to replace Jarno Trulli.
Ultimately, Renault plumped for rookie tester Nelson Piquet Jr, whose appointment as a race driver was believed to be a condition of the possible financial involvement of Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim.
But Piquet's famous triple world champion father recently suggested that his son has no intention of settling for a number two seat in formula one.
Spanish rookie Roldan Rodriguez, who drove for Piquet Snr's GP2 team in 2007, praised Alonso's new teammate.
"Piquet is a very good guy," Rodriguez told Marca.
"He helped me a lot when I was in his father's team. As a driver he is a specialist over a single lap and not quite as good in race pace, although he is very fast."