Home race always an exciting prospect for Alonso

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After his initial run last week at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Fernando Alonso will fall back into his F1 painful routine for his home Grand Prix at Barcelona.

While racing on home turf always provides an extra dose of motivation, it should hardly help the McLaren driver's cause as his team continues to struggle with Honda's engine persisting engine woes.

Despite the troubles and negative outlook, Alonso is still looking forward to his weekend at the Circuit de Catalunya.

"I’m really excited about returning to Barcelona for the Spanish Grand Prix," he said in the team's preview.

"It’s my home race, I’ve had some great times there, and the atmosphere is always crazy. We spend a lot of time there in pre-season testing, but there’s nothing quite like the emotion of racing there in front of your home fans. It’s a very special feeling."

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The future Indy 500 runner is guarded however over his prospects in Spain with progress on the engine front unlikely.

"After a run of difficult races for us, I’m not sure what we can expect from this weekend. We’re expecting some various new parts – which we bring to every race – but we can’t really focus too much on performance until we have solved our reliability issues. That’s always our focus.

"I know the team is working extremely hard to get to the bottom of our recent problems, and I am hopeful we can have a smooth race and a weekend with very few issues.

"For me, qualifying has been an exciting session in the past few races and I hope we can repeat that in Barcelona, but the most important thing will be to maximise whatever grid slot we achieve on Saturday, on race day."

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Phillip van Osten

Motor racing was a backdrop from the outset in Phillip van Osten's life. Born in Southern California, Phillip grew up with the sights and sounds of fast cars thanks to his father, Dick van Osten, an editor and writer for Auto Speed and Sport and Motor Trend. Phillip's passion for racing grew even more when his family moved to Europe and he became acquainted with the extraordinary world of Grand Prix racing. He was an early contributor to the monthly French F1i Magazine, often providing a historic or business perspective on Formula 1's affairs. In 2012, he co-authored along with fellow journalist Pierre Van Vliet the English-language adaptation of a limited edition book devoted to the great Belgian driver Jacky Ickx. He also authored "The American Legacy in Formula 1", a book which recounts the trials and tribulations of American drivers in Grand Prix racing. Phillip is also a commentator for Belgian broadcaster Be.TV for the US Indycar series.