Alonso: I'm just a normal guy

Fernando Alonso insists he is 'just a normal guy' and that the perception many have of him couldn't be further from the truth.

The double champion isn't regarded as one of the most popular drivers on the F1 grid with fans and even countryman Jaime Alguersuari has been quoted in the Spanish press as saying that he find the Ferrari driver to be 'very cold' - although he also backed the title challenger as a 'great' F1 racer.

Alonso himself however insists that the perception people have after seeing him on track isn't the Alonso that those around him know and that he is just a normal guy doing the job he is paid to do.

"In the media we read again and again things about ourselves that are not right," he said. "People are making judgements from the outside, but that's the business.

"I am very calm and relaxed, even romantic. Actually, I'm a normal guy. I'm a little bit shy, but when everything's right, that's when the Spaniard in me comes out!"