After a tumultuous and controversy packed season with McLaren, Fernando Alonso came close to moving to Red Bull for the 2008 season, but after lengthy negotiations, he eventually turned down the offer.

That is the claim of Spain’s El Mundo Deportivo newspaper, reporting that the Spaniard was the energy drink-owned team’s “first choice” before he decided instead to return to Renault.

According to correspondent Elvira Gonzalez, Red Bull’s talks with Alonso followed the double World Champion’s acrimonious split with McLaren at the end of 2007.

“Fernando Alonso had it in his hands to change the course of his own – and Formula 1′s – history in November 2007,” Gonzalez wrote.

But Alonso actually opted to click here for more