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Rain Pours Like Stardust on Alonso

Aside from the performance of the Formula One drivers, one thing has eventually become a buzzword and that is RAIN. At Sunday’s race at Nurburgring, rain poured hard. And it was good. That is especially true with McLaren Mercedes’ Fernando Alonso. For him, it was not just plain rain but stardust.

After a series of frustrating races, double-world champion Alonso has finally hit a stardust shower. Fernando has more to rue than most about the reduced possibility of liquid stardust being sprinkled on race circuits in the near future because the Spaniard is an awesome competitor in the wet. "I like rain, no doubt, I am always quite happy to go and have some fun in it," he explained.

Race analysts say that Alonso is mega in the rain adding that could be the reason he is living in England rather than in Spain.

Like the Mercedes Benz glow plug, Alonso radiates glee and jubilation after winning the much-concluded European Grand Prix. In his race report, The Times' motoring correspondent Edward Gorman reminded enthusiasts. “You often hear it said that, to make Formula One more interesting, Bernie Ecclestone, the sport's ringmaster, should have sprinkler systems installed at every track so that water can be brought into play,” said Gorman.

“At a thrilling, chaotic and dramatic European Grand Prix here yesterday - won by an ecstatic Fernando Alonso for McLaren Mercedes, from Felipe Massa, who was second for Ferrari, and Mark Webber, who was third for Red Bull Racing - you could see exactly why people think that,” added Gorman.

“The season-long battle between Ferrari and McLaren - which is also the subject of the spying scandal due to be adjudicated upon at the FIA's headquarters in Paris this week - is probably closer than it has ever been, noted Gorman. “The Ferraris may have had a slight edge in the dry conditions, but the McLarens were quicker in the wet and looked more competitive than at Silverstone two weeks ago.”

The stardust shower seems to be lucky for Alonso but not for his 22-year-old Briton teammate. “There was an unwelcome cold shower yesterday for Lewis Hamilton's world championship hopes as the European grand prix was swamped by torrential rain that transformed the circuit into a skating rink for cars and led to the race being temporarily halted by the red flag after only four of its scheduled 60 laps,” said Alan Henry of The Guardian.

“Minutes before the start a light shower brushed the circuit but the cars accelerated away on their formation lap without undue delay. Within seconds, though, most of the drivers were frantically radioing their pits warning them they would be stopping for intermediate or wet-weather tyres at the end of the opening lap. As it transpired, events would turn out to be a whole lot more spectacular,” said Henry.

James McElvoy of The Daily Mail has this to say: “Alonso, who narrowed his deficit on championship leader Lewis Hamilton to just two points, stepped out of the car and immediately blamed Brazilian Massa for their coming together in the pivotal overtaking incident at the Nurburgring. The two argued in Italian as they weighed prior to the podium ceremony, with Spaniard Alonso pointing to the damage on his McLaren and wagging a finger.”

“Just to cap an incident-packed afternoon, Michael Schumacher was on hand to present the winner's trophy to McLaren's Ron Dennis, boss of his long-time rivals during his glory days at Ferrari. It was one of those days,” McElvoy added.

In the coming races, Alonso could be wishing for more great monsoons in his favor…

About the Author

Anthony Fontanelle is a 35-year-old automotive buff who grew up in the Windy City. He does freelance work for an automotive magazine when he is not busy customizing cars in his shop.

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