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The two-time champion had been linked with a Ferrari seat for some time, with Kimi Raikkonen delaying an announcement about his plans after the 2009 season.
But the Finn extended his contract with Ferrari until the 2010 season, closing the door to Alonso at least until 2011.
Alonso said he was not too surprised by Ferrari's announcement.
"No, because there was talk that it would be like that, so in a way I knew that they would renew his contract," Alonso told Cadena Ser radio.
"And once you know it, you have to think of 2009. I was not too worried about 2010. The most important thing is too see what is the best place to be in 2009."
The Spaniard is yet to announce his plans for 2009, with Renault, BMW and Honda hoping to secure his services.
The Renault driver insisted the French squad are his first choice, but he made it clear his future could be at Ferrari if the chance comes up.
"As I always say, Renault is my first option because I know the people and I know things can be done right here, even though this year things haven't gone well," he added. "And if not, we'll see what we can do.
"I'm 27 now and life changes a lot and if I race in Formula One for another eight or ten years I might get the chance again to end up there (at Ferrari)."
The Spanish driver said he has not seen much of Renault's car for 2009, and he admitted he has to be cautious when judging the team's optimism for next season.
"I haven't seen much, because we are focused on the remaining races, but I'm sure it inspires confidence because at this point of the year every team is nearly completely sure that next year they will do well," he said. "They are all very optimistic and it's up to you to believe them or not.
"Normally I believe them, because they've given me a lot of joy and two cars to win titles with, so it's easier to believe them than others."
Alonso is currently in seventh place in the championship and is yet to climb onto the podium in 2008
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BMW Sauber, Honda Racing and Williams will be suppoting the introduction of Kinetic Energy Recovery Systems (KERS) in Formula One, despite concerns about safety and opposition from other teams against its introduction in 2009.
F1 teams have met twice in the past seven days to discuss the subject of KERS, with some teams feeling the safety worries and escalating costs of the technology mean it better to postpone their use in grand prix racing until 2010.
But with unified agreement among the teams needed to change F1's regulations, or at the very least put in place a gentleman's agreement that no one will run with the devices next year, the introduction of KERS looks certain to go ahead.
Renault boss Flavio Briatore is understood to have led calls for a delay when the matter was discussed at last week's Maranello meeting, with some teams happy for such a delay to happen if other teams agreed. However, with Honda, BMW and Williams opposed to such an idea, any move to postpone the introduction has been abandoned for now.
Team bosses met again in the paddock at the Hungaroring on Sunday morning to therefore implement a more open framework for resolving the issues - agreeing to publicise each outfit's safety and cost experiences.
BMW motorsport director Mario Theissen told autosport.com: "We think we should go ahead with it, and there were three aspects discussed in the meeting - two of them openly, which is safety and financial implications. And the other one, underlying the picture, is competitiveness, as you would expect.
"Our point of view is that it is good, not just for BMW but for the sport. And if it is good we should have it as soon as possible."
Theissen, whose team's KERS project is currently on hold while they investigate the recent electric shock incident at Jerez, said that delaying it would be of no benefit for costs or safety.
"No technical project has become cheaper by delaying its introduction. So if we delayed it by another year we would spend the same money without putting it on stage, and there is no sense at all.
"It is clear that we have to get the safety issues out of the way and we definitely will not race it until it is achieved. We are confident to achieve that safety and I don't see any other reason for a delay."
Theissen's feelings about the matter are echoed by Williams chief Frank Williams, who claims the vote taken at Maranello means there should be no going back.
"It is an exciting challenge that we are enjoying," he said. "There were two or three against the delay but we want to carry on with what we are doing."
Although BMW Sauber and Red Bull Racing have had safety scares with the systems, Honda Racing have so far experienced few problems – after becoming the first team to successfully complete a track test with their device at Silverstone last week.
Following a run at Santa Pod earlier this year, and having conducted rig test work on the device recently, Mike Conway drove a KERS system at Silverstone to show that the devices could work without problem.
Honda Racing team principal Ross Brawn told autosport.com: "We are happy to carry on with KERs, and we have put a lot of effort in. I think if we were the only ones who were stood out saying no then we might consider it (a delay), but we would generally be happier if it was kept."
