Motorsport: Alonso far, so good

Formula One championship leader Fernando Alonso has stayed out of the limelight ahead of a home Spanish Grand Prix that promises another epic battle with Ferrari's Michael Schumacher - but it hasn't stopped Alonso-mania at the Circuit de Catalunya.

Opening practice saw thousands of fans filling the main grandstand - a far more impressive turnout than the sparse crowd on race day at what turned out to be a thrilling San Marino Grand Prix at Imola two weeks ago.

Tickets have long been sold out for the race on Monday morning (NZT), with Spaniards eager to witness another duel between Alonso, seen as Schumacher's heir apparent, and the seven-times world champion.

Schumacher is chasing his seventh Spanish Grand Prix victory and a record-equalling fifth in a row at the Barcelona circuit where he has never finished out of the points in 14 appearances.

Renault's Alonso hopes to become the first Spaniard to win his home race after already becoming the first to lead the championship.

The battle at Imola provided an enthralling contest, with Schumacher harrying Alonso all the way to the finish line as the Spaniard held his nerve with a controlled and defensive drive under pressure.

Meanwhile BAR's Jenson Button declared his Formula One title hopes over after his BAR team were suspended for two races they had hoped to win.

"You've got to say our chance of winning the championship is pretty much gone," the Briton told reporters at the Spanish Grand Prix, which he must now miss.

"To come back from that is pretty much impossible, especially with Renault being so strong in the first few races and Ferrari going to be strong for the rest of the year."

Button was stripped of his third place at the San Marino Grand Prix as part of BAR's punishment for breaking the rules on weight and fuel. The team, part-owned by Honda and runners-up to Ferrari in 2004, will now go until the seventh race of the season without a point to their credit. There will then be 12 races remaining.

Button said he felt before the sanction that he still had a chance of the title.

"This would have been a great race for us but I think Monaco is the one I'm most disappointed about. We could have shocked a lot of people there," he said. "We'd have been staggeringly quick."

Button finished second in Monaco last year.

McLaren's Juan Pablo Montoya, returning after missing two races due to injury, crashed heavily in Friday's second practice session, clambering from his wrecked car after smashing into the tyre wall. He appeared to be suffering some pain in his left arm as he scrambled to safety but said afterwards that he was fine and fit to race.

Montoya missed the Bahrain and San Marino Grand Prix after injuring himself playing tennis. He was replaced in Bahrain by Spaniard Pedro de la Rosa, the test driver who topped the times for McLaren in both of Friday's hour-long sessions.

- AGENCIES, HERALD ON SUNDAY