Pat Symonds, Renault’s Director of Engineering, will be less involved in the race team in future, reports Autosport magazine. This has meant that there will a personnel reshuffle within the team, with Fisichella’s race engineer, Alan Permane, taking control of the teams overall engineering oversight and other engineers moving around to fill the gaps.

These are changes with the future in mind but they may have an immediate impact upon Renault’s competitiveness for 2007. It takes time to adjust to re-arrangements and, taken with the driver changes, especially the loss of Alonso, the team might not be as strong as we have come to expect, at least for the early part of the season.

The drivers are the biggest question mark, of course. I have been a fan of Fisichella’s over the years but, to be brutally honest, he has disappointed a little. There have been half chances for the taking but, generally, he has missed out on them. And this coming season with Renault has to be the make or break year. As the driver with experience, he should take the team forward and start to win consistently; others have risen to the occasion in the past and surprised us with suddenly-masterful performances (remember Patrick Tambay in Gilles’ shoes?). But can Giancarlo do it? I am not sure.

Then there’s young Heikki Kovalainen. Briatore thinks he has the makings of a star but only time will tell. His results in lower formulae are good but not record-breaking, and his year as a test driver with Renault tells us little. It seems he is pretty quick and he is Finnish, after all (and you know that counts!). But he would have to be something really special to challenge for the championship in his first F1 racing year. Again, I’m not sure.

With all these changes, the 2006 champions have to be a dubious bet for next year. And Ferrari are in the same boat, as strong as their line-up looks on paper. At McLaren, everything hinges on how good their car is - if it’s good, Alonso will be champion, if not, he’s in for a very frustrating year. And some are getting tired of waiting for McLaren to come good again…

It’s a perfect recipe for a fiercely competitive season. The big guys are busy rebuilding and the midfield runners have their acts together and are ready to take up the challenge. Ever the optimist, I hope we see a real dogfight between five or six teams with the championships not decided until the very last lap of the last race.

And I say that knowing full well that years of that sort are as rare as hen’s teeth in F1…

McLaren have had a pretty poor year, not winning a single race as yet with only one to go. Their car has not been as competitive as we have come to expect and, to add to their woes, they have suffered from reliability problems and accidents, often at the moments they seemed most likely to grab a win. It has been enough to make anyone wonder about the wisdom of Alonso’s decision to drive for them in 2007.

What we should remember, however, is that McLaren have a habit of bouncing back. If their car is not as good as intended one year, you can bet that the next one will be something special. With Mercedes determined not to be embarrassed by their compatriots, BMW, there can be no doubt that the folks at Woking are slaving away at plans for next season. Alonso is likely to be the beneficiary of all the hard work, design genius and money that McLaren will expend this winter.

So Alonso’s decision may not be as rash as appears at first sight. This is even more so when one considers the problems of the most likely opposition. Renault will have a driver line-up that is less than perfect; although I expect Fisichella to rise to the occasion as lead driver, I still have my doubts that he is capable of being a consistent winner. If nothing else, his bad luck should prevent that. And Kovalainen may be a bright prospect but has yet to prove himself in the heat of a Formula 1 race.

Everyone expects that Kimi Raikkonen will walk away with the championship, once he has the speed and reliability of the Ferrari to back his aspirations. I am not so sure. He will be joining a team that has come to respect and support their number two driver, Felipe Massa, and the Finn may find it difficult to carve a space for himself within their affections. Too often in the past we have seen what happens to a driver who fails to gain the wholehearted backing of the Ferrari team. Kimi has the speed to succeed but I wonder if he has the ability to make a team his own in Schumacher fashion.

So Alonso’s prospects for next year are considerably brighter than we might think. He has already demonstrated the driving skills and luck necessary to become World Champion and he will be riding the crest of McLaren’s determination to have a better year than this one. Add to that Ron Dennis’ excellent organizational and team management skills and you have a potential winner.

What it all means is that 2007 is shaping up to be one of the most closely-fought seasons for many a long year. As the last race of this season approaches, we may think we have witnessed a battle of the giants but we should remember that only two drivers have been in with a chance. Next year it is likely that there will be many more than that squabbling over the spoils. And that can only be good for the sport and the fans.

My bet for next year? Oh, I love outsiders so I’ll stick my neck out really far and say Jenson Button!

Renault today announced its F1 plans for the future and has confirmed that Flavio Briatore will continue to lead the team for the next two years at least. Their driver line-up will be Giancarlo Fisichella and Heikki Kovalainen and there will be two test drivers, Ricardo Zonta and Nelson Piquet Jr.

This news is every bit as important as any decision on retirement to be made by Michael Schumacher because Briatore has been a major factor in Renault’s success since they took over the Benetton team. He is very influential in the driver market and has shown great acumen in picking winners, Schumacher and Alonso in particular.

Renault President Carlos Ghosn commented: “Under Flavio’s leadership, the team achieved a remarkable double in 2005 by winning the Drivers’ and Constructors’ championships, and maintaining that competitiveness in 2006. I am counting on the determination, talent and effectiveness of Flavio and the entire Renault F1 Team, under the Presidency of Alain Dassas, to once again take Renault to the forefront of Formula 1.”

The Renault driver selection shows both a commitment to experience and a willingness to give new drivers a chance. Fisichella and Zonta are very capable and offer plenty of knowledge and understanding of the cars; Kovalainen is a potential future star, as is Piquet Jr. This is what Briatore had to say about them:

“Everybody at Renault is very optimistic about our driver line-up for 2007 and beyond. We have taken the conscious decision to build for the future, without compromising the stability of the team in the short term. Giancarlo is a proven force in Formula 1 and Heikki is already fully integrated into the team. After seeing performances in testing this season, we have very high hopes for him. It is also a pleasure to welcome Ricardo and Nelsinho, who each bring different qualities to the team: Ricardo will have a key role to play in preparing for 2007, while Nelsinho has shown this year that he deserves his place in Formula 1. 2007 is the start of something new for Renault, and we believe it will be an exciting season.”

There is something about being seen as the number one in a team that brings out the best in a driver. I think we will see a new Fisichella next year and he will be an excellent replacement for Alonso. No matter what our thoughts on Kovalainen may be, the fact remains that he is very new to F1 competition and it would be wrong to expect miracles from him in his first racing year.

Nobody has mentioned the other Finn, Kimi Raikkonen, however. One must presume that, since Renault have made this announcement now, the rumors are true and Kimi has signed for Ferrari. There is still a possibility that he will stay with McLaren for 2007 but this looks rather remote now.

And that has some bearing on the issue of Michael’s retirement. Increasingly, opinion seems to be that he will hang up his helmet at the end of the year and, with the news from Renault, I would have to agree.

Renault Press Release

Much of the gossip of the moment centers on where Mark Webber will be heading for 2007. Frank Williams is in no hurry to sign him up for another season, it seems, and has let his option expire, perhaps with the intention of offering Mark the drive but for less money. Former champion, Alan Jones, has advised Mark to stay put and this might be a good plan, provided he gets the offer. Meanwhile there is the possibility of a drive at McLaren or Renault, although this looks a little unlikely, given the numerous driver options available to those teams.

Much hinges on Kimi Raikkonen’s eventual decision. If he leaves McLaren for Ferrari, Webber’s stock must increase in view of his talent and experience. And, if Kimi goes to Renault, it would make sense for McLaren to take Mark on for the second car alongside Alonso. But, if Kimi stays at McLaren, all bets are off and Mark would do best to stay where he is.

It looks as though Alan Jones is right; Mark should stick with Williams. The chances of a drive with Renault are remote to say the least, especially when we remember Fisichella’s statement that his teammate for 2007 will be a Finn. McLaren already have a star signed up in Alonso and so are most likely to offer the second car to someone they know, Pedro de la Rosa or Gary Paffett. So Mark can do little but wait to see what Frank will offer him.

Formula 1 is perhaps the only sport in which it becomes fairly common for drivers to take a pay cut. I think Ayrton Senna started the trend when he once offered to drive for Williams for nothing. But it is only the stars who can afford to do that; at the back of the grid new drivers are on a pittance and often bring much-needed sponsorship money with them. Webber must have been receiving a good wage at Williams and could afford to settle for less, I would think.

However, if I were Ron Dennis, I’d be thinking seriously about giving the second seat to Webber. Experience counts and his other options can get their experience in lesser teams - their time will come. David Coulthard spent many years with McLaren and always did a sound, competent job for them. Mark Webber could do the same but with the added frisson that he might just prove quicker than we’d thought. His performance in Germany gave some hint at that.

Whatever happens, I hope Mark does not run out of options. It would be a pity if he were to find himself without a decent drive for next year.