Reports: Fernando Alonso signs with Renault

Renault has signed two-time Formula One world champion Fernando Alonso for the 2008 season, Spanish media reports said Monday.

Newspaper El Mundo said Alonso had agreed to a euro35 million (US$51.3 million) deal and that an announcement was expected imminently. The length of the contract was not reported.

Alonso had been linked with a return to Renault ever since he was released from his three-year contract with McLaren in November. A move to the French team gained momentum on Friday when motorsports governing body FIA decided against penalizing Renault for possessing confidential information about rival team McLaren.

The 26-year-old Spaniard …