The Spanish Grand Prix is, of course, a high point in the season for Alonso, and he can expect a huge turn-out to welcome him to the Circuit de Catalunya. Although disappointed by his Bahrain result, the Spaniard will have been buoyed by recent test developments and is determined to give the home crowd what it wants - a second win in as many years. The only downside this season is that his car colours do not match the Asturias flags that the majority of his fans will bring...
"As my home race, the Spanish Grand Prix is massively important to me," Alonso said, "The support I receive from the crowd all weekend is immense and it really does give me extra motivation to have a great race for them. However, there is no more pressure on me or more focus from me - when I am in the car, it is the same as any track, but it is my home and it is only natural to want to win.
"The race in Bahrain was not great for me, but I have arrived in Spain leading the world championship and that is a good position to be in going into the European season. We had a strong test at this track earlier this week and we got to understand more about how the car performs at the Circuit de Catalunya."
Hamilton, meanwhile, continues to ride the crest of the wave that has borne him aloft since Melbourne, with just a race win waiting to complete the scene. The Briton, however, is keeping his feet firmly planted on
terra firma, preferring to focus on each event as it comes.
"It seems to have been a very long time since we last raced, and I cannot wait to get back in my car and back to the action," he insisted, "There has not been any relaxing on our part as, when I returned to the UK, I only had a couple of days before returning to the
McLaren Technology Centre to work with the team on the development programme. We have had a couple of weeks where we can really focus on improvements in performance and I am looking forward to fighting for more points."
