Unlike Royal Mail, Fernando Alonso is capable of delivering on the big occasion. Yesterday, the Spaniard secured his 28th career front row start. That's a hugely impressive record of qualifying at the sharp end in 26% of the Grand Prix he's competed in. Not bad for a man who spent his first season in the sport racing for Minardi.

There have been many who've pointed out that Alonso's second place on the grid was achieved by running light. And more than likely they're correct. It's also true that Renault have made improvement's to the R28 in time for the Spanish Grand Prix. However, the fact still remains that in four events, Alonso has failed to make the top ten shoot-out only once. Team-mate Nelson Piquet, on the other hand, secured a place in the final stage of qualifying for the first time this weekend.

The most astonishing thing isn't Alonso's record in qualifying, over the course of his career, it's his ability to bring the car home in a good position on race day. Out of the 27 times he's started Grand Prix from the front row, he's gone on to finish in the top three on 24 occasions. This includes podiums in three races during 2003-04, when taking on drivers who were making use of much faster machinery. So maybe, just maybe, Sunday evening will see a few bottles of Cruzcampo drank in celebration of a good result for the Asturian, in his home Grand Prix.