Fernando Alonso has revealed that his first offer to return to Formula One came after a handful of races away from the sport, but he turned down the opportunity as it would have clashed with his plans for this year.
On Wednesday, Renault announced it had signed Alonso on a two-year deal that will start in 2021 and see him replace McLaren-bound Daniel Ricciardo at the team. Alonso last raced in Formula One at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in 2018, but claims an offer to return in 2020 had already been made by the early stages of the 2019 season.