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How does it feel to inspire an entire country — to introduce an almost untouchable sport to the frenzied masses? Fernando Alonso certainly knows how that feels and this weekend he no doubt moved a whole new generation of F1 fans.

I often sit on a Sunday afternoon having watched another race thinking what it must be like to be an F1 driver. How does it feel to inspire an entire country — to introduce an almost untouchable sport to the frenzied masses? Fernando Alonso certainly knows how that feels and this weekend he no doubt moved a whole new generation of F1 fans.

Fernando is the youngest pole sitter, youngest race winner, youngest world champion and now the first Spaniard to win a home grand prix. I suspect that Fernando will not only be saluting his team for his flawless performance but also his legions of fans who crammed into the Circuit de Catalunya to watch their young hero do battle with the Goliath of motorsport also known as Michael Schumacher.

A heavenly qualifying session saw the gorgeous Spaniard taking pole with team-mate Fisichella following right behind. The all blue front row saw an all red second row in their mirrors as Michael and Massa set the next fastest times. Come race day all that changed with Michael overtaking Fisi in the first round of pit stops.

But that wasn’t the only thing to change — Schumacher, the golden boy, found he was no longer the most popular driver in the paddock.

Italians are an extraordinarily passionate nation but let’s face it, if Michael was offered a drive in one of the Super Aguris it is highly unlikely that the Tifosi would follow him — I reckon they would be more encouraging of Ide if he ever saw the inside of the scarlet donkey.

More good news

Good news from the Renault garage is that they are sticking around in F1 until at least 2012 with Flav probably coming along for part of the ride. Rumours are also rife that they are looking for a big name to join the team next season. My advice would be to pay someone enough to wrangle Alonso out of his McLaren contract.

Now that I think about it — why is Alonso going to McLaren anyway? If they were winning races with a high rate of reliability and were challenging for the championship then I could understand but it seems that McLaren are going in the same direction as Jenson Button’s beloved Honda — backwards! Design genius Adrian Newey has already headed to Red Bull and two other top men have also left for greener pastures so, by my calculations, that leaves McLaren in the dwang!

What was he thinking?

I can only imagine the amount of money they are offering Alonso but perhaps they should spend that money on some hot new designers, get the car back to winning ways and then consider signing up some big names. DC acted like a faithful dog to McLaren but was unceremoniously booted out to make way for Montoya. The chances of Kimi wearing McLaren overalls next season are significantly low and Montoya would probably accept a drive from Midland F1 if it was offered to him. Needless to say, McLaren did not have a good weekend with Montoya beaching himself and his car on the curb and Kimi coming in fifth.

Mr Brightside aka Jenson Button is supposedly looking forward to Monaco probably because it’s the only place that he can’t get overtaken and hence will be able to save the team a little embarrassment. Five sets of new tyres during qualifying didn’t do much for Button and his team-mate (who was supposedly just as quick as Kimi) did him no favours by holding him up for a part of the race. Not that it would have made much of a difference — if Button wasn’t able to catch Kimi he would have no doubt come up with a different excuse than just attributing it to Ruby.

The British Grand Prix is being advertised at every opportunity but have the commentators still not figured out that the fans are not anticipating a British win (no one is that optimistic) but that they are actually there to see some good drivers?

200 races

The other favourite topic of the Spanish race was DC starting in his 200th race. DC did indeed start the race but from the back of the grid due to a water pump failure which saw him spinning straight into the tyre wall. DC managed to finish only in 14th and that’s with five retirements. Perhaps Christian Klien has a valid point when commenting that he is quicker than Uncle David.

Nick Heidfeld helped his team to a solitary point with Jackie Villeneuve finishing down in 12th behind Rosberg, Trulli and Webber.

I can’t claim that the Spanish Grand Prix was the most exciting or scintillating race that I have ever watched but it certainly brought a lump to my throat when Alonso crossed that finish line and the crowd roared in approval. So what does it feel like hearing 130 000 people chanting your name? How does it feel to have a King congratulating you on a regular basis? And most importantly — how do you still manage to keep your dignity, privacy and feet on the ground?

One day I will speak to Ferdi about that but for now I’m gearing up for the curves of Monaco — the steep hills overlooking the azure ocean and a country that boasts more expensive cars per square kilometre than any other in the world. Perhaps Fernando will be crowned an honorary prince. Or will it be Michael who wears the crown? Maybe Kimi will finally come good. Perhaps Button will break his losing streak or will Rosberg go down in history as they youngest race winner. So many options and the result only takes two hours to reveal itself but for now we must wait patiently until the queen of all races comes around.