F1Break

British journalist Ed Gorman, Motor Racing Correspondent for The Times, has attracted interest in Spain after readers of his blog voted Fernando Alonso as the best driver of 2008. Marca, the largest sports daily in Spain, reacted with a degree of surprise that Alonso had been chosen ahead of world champion Lewis Hamilton by commentators on a blog belonging to a British newspaper.

It should be noted that Gorman does state that Alonso wasn't his own personal choice, but he understands why so many voted for the Spaniard. The Times aren't the only example of a large British media organisation that have offered recent praise of Alonso either. During the final races of the season, ITV's Formula One commentators James Allen and Martin Brundle (likely freed from their normal editorial constraints due to the broadcaster handing over coverage of the sport to the BBC, in 2009) both opined that Alonso was the best 'pound-for-pound driver' on the grid.

Is the praise justified? Well, it certainly seems reasonable, given Alonso's performances during the latter half of the season. As some Renault employees have cheekily pointed out, if the championship had started in Valencia, then the man from Asturias would have been crowned winner. Quite remarkable, given that he had a car and engine package some way short of either McLaren or Ferrari performance capabilities.

Image courtesy of Jimmy Liew

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.