What's eating Fernando Alonso? STEVE COOPER gets inside the mind of a champion
When Fernando Alonso marched into the Monza paddock on race morning in September 2006, he was already the people's champion. Wronged and victimised, the guileless Spaniard bravely stood his ground, speaking out about the Formula 1 machine he felt was trying to crush his destiny - and his honesty and humility earned him huge respect from both the F1 community and the world at large.
When he walks into the famous Autodromo Nazionale this week, he'll be scrutinised as a flawed and compromised figure; a man who still wears his heart on his sleeve but who has been criticised for his unsporting behaviour and miserable demeanour.