After a three-week-long summer hiatus, Formula One reconvenes this weekend for the Turkish Grand Prix.
Alonso and Hamilton - and McLaren and Ferrari - resume battle in Istanbul
After a three-week-long summer hiatus, Formula One reconvenes this weekend for the Turkish Grand Prix, giving fans a chance to reacquaint themselves with the most intriguing rivalry the sport has seen in years.
Nineteen years, to be precise, when McLaren last elected to run the sport's two best drivers, then Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna, in tandem.
That experiment was doomed to failure - Prost finally quit the team after a collision with Senna in the 1989 Japanese GP handed him a third title - and, after the Hungarian GP, many are predicting that the attempt to partner Fernando Alonso with Lewis Hamilton will end sooner rather than later.
Despite Alonso being less than one year into a three-year deal with McLaren, events in Budapest - when Alonso's antics in the pits denied Hamilton a shot at pole position, after the Englishman had prevented him from overtaking earlier in qualifying - have led to predictions that the double world champion will depart at season's end.
Advice
There have been one or two contrary voices, however, and not just those (Mercedes motorsport boss Norbert Haug, Alonso's manager) whose priority is to try and calm troubled waters.
Michael Schumacher's former manager, Willi Weber, used the conduit of
Bild am Sonntag to advise that Alonso "must proceed with pride, get the team onside and not hide himself away". He added that "a change of team would be absolute feeble-mindedness".
Even if Alonso were to depart ahead of schedule - a move back to Renault, where he won both his titles, would surely be favourite - there remain six races this season, each of which has the potential to offer a new twist in the tale.
The first comes this weekend at the Istanbul Park circuit, a track which, while part of the F1 roster for only two seasons, has already gained a favourable reputation.
Seemingly the only circuit for which F1's 'architect in residence', Hermann Tilke, has yet to cop any real flak, the 5.378km offering has an anti-clockwise layout and also features plenty of gradient changes.
And, in the double-apex turn eight, it also has a corner that is fast becoming notorious as one capable of catching even the world's best drivers unawares.
Despite his travails in Hungary, Alonso heads into the race only seven points behind his team-mate, with the man himself saying: "I have a solid points total in the drivers' world championship, and I aim to build on that considerably in Istanbul."
Alonso added: "I have come second in the two years we have raced here previously and I will be aiming to improve on that this time."
The 2006 race witnessed a breathless climax, as Alonso defended his second place during the closing laps from a marauding Michael Schumacher.
Hamilton, too, has a brace of second places to his credit in Istanbul, scored in charging style during last year's GP2 support race.
McLaren v Ferrari
Switching to the even more potent inter-team rivalry that currently exists between McLaren and Ferrari, the break saw the FIA set a date - September 13th - for the latter's appeal relating to the ongoing 'spying' row.
Meanwhile, on track, Ferrari arrive in Turkey looking to make up ground after a relatively disappointing outing in Hungary.
Although Kimi Raikkonen finished a close second to Hamilton, the latter now holds a 20-point advantage; for Felipe Massa, meanwhile, problems in qualifying - the team underfuelled his car - led to a frustrating Sunday afternoon stuck in traffic.
In the event, the Brazilian could only finish 13th at the Hungaroring, a result which, coupled with Raikkonen's, saw the Finn overtake his team-mate in the standings.
And, according to Raikkonen, with six races remaining, both he and Ferrari will have to cut loose - and rely on results elsewhere - if they are to challenge.
"We have to give our best and hope that those who are ahead of us have slight problems," Raikkonen said. "I don't have much to lose, so I can risk more than my colleagues at McLaren.
"Six races may seem only a few, but for the ones who are leading, it's a lot."
But Ferrari's drivers hold a monopoly on race victories in Turkey: Raikkonen winning the inaugural event in 2005, before Massa scored his maiden win there 12 months ago.
Another driver looking to make an impression over the closing six races, albeit for very different reasons, is Toro Rosso's Vitantonio Liuzzi.
The Red Bull-backed team chose the summer break to announce that three-time Champ Car title winner Sebastien Bourdais will join them next season, leaving Liuzzi the balance of 2007 to impress any potential future employers.
