Mark Hughes: F1's Inside Line

What Fernando alonso has pulled off in the last two races (before Japan) is quite remarkable.

In the white heat of fuss about his role in the spying saga, with the team preoccupied with the World Council hearing, he has simply gone even further into himself than usual, disappeared into that protective zone we've seen before - the one he released himself from when he stood atop the wheel of his Renault in Brazil '05 screaming at the planet as the new world champion - and dug deep. Where he goes to we cannot know, but it's a place that gives him special powers.

Forget about the ethics of his negotiating ploys with Ron Dennis in Hungary, and think only about his performances coming off the back of a disappointing run in Turkey. At both Monza and Spa he was utterly magnificent, leaving Lewis Hamilton breathless in his wake.