'Ferrari will struggle early on, although you can never rule out Alonso's brilliance'. That was this column's prediction at the start of the season and as the year progresses the Spaniard's genius has grown apace. Last week's win in Germany was a case in point.
The car from Marinello was nowhere near the fastest - both he and his boss Stefano Domenicali said as much after the race - and yet Alonso put it on pole in the wet and kept it in front in the dry race. It was like his first championship winning season where he found Michael Schumacher climbing all over his gearbox during one race, but somehow held him off over the last third of race.
On Sunday he knew how to stay ahead. He was quick in the overtaking danger zones and ahead of the DRS zone. The rest of the time, he just got in the way. Vettel had a go and failed, as did Jenson Button. As McLaren boss Martin Whitmarsh put it: 'In Germany we could catch him and hurt our tyres, but we couldn't get past him. We were a reasonable amount quicker, but if you put someone like Fernando at the front of a race then you are going to have difficulty getting past him'.
Domenicali feels his driver is at his peak powers right now. 'He is in a great moment, and we will try to keep the momentum for as long as possible'. When so many people decry Formula One for being so technology led, it's great to see a driver who can overturn the odds.
Given the season so far, there's no reason why Alonso couldn't get his third world championship. But nothing seems simple in 2012, let alone the fight for the top spot. McLaren certainly feel that at last, momentum is building for them.
Before Germany, this column talked about Lewis Hamilton's very public musing's over his next contract and the rotten results for Jenson Button. Button, though, was very upbeat and his optimism was rewarded with second place. The team seemed re-energised. A record pit-stop time was a case in point.
