It was, as most of you might have already guessed, a Spanish newspaper revealing that Alonso will be officially confirmed as a Ferrari driver during the 2009 Italian Grand Prix, at Monza. According to Diario AS, the Spaniard will be announced as race driver of the Scuderia on September 11 – great date selection, by the way – with a deal suggested to last for the upcoming 5 years.
It was the same publication who suggested that Alonso will be invited by his future team to the Ferrari end-of-the-season event in Valencia for an official presentation. However, since the two-time world champion's deal with Renault is to expire at the end of 2010, he will be forced to wear “casual clothing”.
Alonso will reportedly come to Ferrari with former Spanish backer Grupo Santander, who will officially switch their sponsorship programme in Formula One from McLaren to the prancing horse starting 2010. Santander have been sponsoring Alonso from his early years into the sport, but got stuck with McLaren Mercedes after the Spaniard decided to break his deal with the Woking based outfit at the end of 2007.
While suggesting Alonso will join the Maranello based organization in 2010, Diario AS did not make any nomination for the departed driver. Both Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa are under contract with Ferrari for at least until the end of 2010, so Ferrari are still to make that decision in due time.
Either way, that's one more reason to feel excited while waiting for this year's Italian Grand Prix.
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