Somewhat farcically, both Renault and Ferrari have effectively completed the deal that will see double world champion Fernando Alonso move across to the Italian team in 2010, though neither side are yet prepared to fully admit to it.
Ferrari team boss Stefano Domenicali said after the Singapore Grand Prix on Sunday that an announcement on the team's 2010 driver line up could be made as early as the Japanese Grand Prix next week, with the confirmation of Fernando Alonso alongside Felipe Massa being the likely gist of such an announcement.
There are still believed to be some complications on the legal side, particularly with the details of Kimi Raikkonen's release from his 2010 contract with the team, though once the t's have been crossed and the i's dotted, the mov is likely to be confirmed, with Raikkonen expected to make a shock move back to his old team McLaren.
Domenicali said on the subject of the driver announcements that: "I think that as soon as we are ready we will let you know. We don't want to wait too long."
As to whether that announcement could come at Suzuka, he simply said that: "It is a possibility, but it is not guaranteed."
The situation is also generally accepted on the Renault side of the equation, with the long-suffering team's new stand-in managing director Jean-Francois Caubet admitting that he would be sad to see Alonso leave the team.
"I think Fernando will miss Renault and Renault will miss Fernando," he tearfully blubbered at Singapore.
Renault are reported to be in talks ith BMW driver Robert Kubica over the Pole moving to the team in 2010 as the replacement for Alonso.
Meanwhile, Stefano Domenicali has also refused to rule out the possibility of injured Ferrari man Felipe Massa returning to the cockpit before the end of the current season.
Massa, who was injured by debris at the Hungarian GP weekend, is recovering in Brazil and was expected to sit out the rest of the season before returning in 2010, but Domenicali said that he never ruled out the possibility of an earlier return for the Brazilian.
"He is doing every day a check with his doctor, but not of an official medical check," Domenicali beamed, "He is working hard on the training and next week he should go into the karting activity."
In reply to questions as to whether Massa could return in 2009, Domenicali stated that: "It is too early to say that. We need to see it step-by-step, and we don't have to anticipate anything.
"He will be back 100 percent but there is no need to anticipate anything if there is something that is not ready. I don't want to exclude anything, but we need to be cautious."
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