ALONSO FERRARI SWITCH IN DOUBT

FERNANDO ALONSO'S dream £75million move to Ferrari has been thrown into doubt by the Crashgate scandal rocking Formula One.

The former double world champion was set to switch to the Italian giants next season as a replacement for Kimi Raikkonen.

But Alonso's financial links with shamed ex-Renault boss Flavio Briatore could spark an investigation into his managerial affairs.

Alonso is due to join Ferrari in a three-year deal worth £25m a season.

However, motor-sport chiefs have ruled that no driver will be granted the super-licence they need to race if they are managed by Briatore.

The Italian has been banned indefinitely from the sport for fixing the result of last year's Singapore Grand Prix by ordering Nelson Piquet Jnr to crash to help Alonso win the race. Alonso, speaking on his return to the scene of F1's biggest scandal, insists long-time backer Briatore is no longer his manager.

The Spaniard, 28, said: "It doesn't change at all anything on me. My manager was Luis Garcia Abad, who is here with me always. And my manager next year will be Luis."

But Alonso is still paying Briatore's management company part of his earnings from the sport in a deal that has several years to run.

The Swiss-based driver has been linked to Briatore since the co-owner of QPR spotted his talent as a teenager and loaned him to Minardi. He then took him to Renault and title glory in 2005 and 2006.

Alonso drove the wedding car when Briatore married wonderbra model Elisabetta Gregoraci last year.

Briatore's company also has Red Bull's Mark Webber and McLaren's Heikki Kovalainen on its books as well as Piquet and Romain Grosjean - who replaced the sacked Brazilian at Renault.

Aussie ace Webber has revealed he has been contracted to Briatore for 11 years, while three-time champ Nelson Piquet Snr is threatening legal action to get his son out of a 15-year deal.

Multi-millionaire Briatore is considering suing the FIA over his ban and the loss of earnings if he is stopped from managing drivers.

Briatore, 59, said: "I've been betrayed by my own world. In the end I will win and, you'll see, we will have a great party. It will be organised well and we'll invite all those people who have stayed close to me during these tough times."

But outgoing FIA president Max Mosley can see no way back for Briatore - despite F1 chief Bernie Ecclestone's incredible claim that the ban was too harsh.

Mosley maintained: "Briatore will not even be allowed to come to F1 as a visitor, nor walk through the paddock."

And there seems no way back for Piquet after he blew the whistle on the race-fix scandal having been sacked by Briatore.

He has been linked with a move to new F1 team Manor for 2010. But Alex Tai, a board member of Virgin who are set to become title sponsors of Manor next year, insists the company would not be associated with a cheat.

Tai said: "What I can say is that as a director of the main board of Virgin, I can assure you that we would never have anybody in a team sponsored by us who cheats."

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