MOTOR SPORT/Formula One Championship:Monaco on a Friday of Grand Prix weekend is a strangely absent affair. There is a distinct flattening of excitement. High-octane, champagne-fuelled hysteria is replaced with an almost surburban listlessness. If they could rig barbecues to the back of the billion-dollar yachts you feel like the steaks and skewered vegetables might just come out. In the garages of the Formula One teams cars are buffed and polished. It's a pleasant valley Friday - by the sea.

All of which gives the teams a chance to take stock, figure out what's what around the streets of the millionaire's playground and work out who's got what it takes to lift the trophy of the most important race of the season.

And so far, out of the mellowness has emerged the man who has in recent races been almost as quiet as Friday afternoon in the city state, Fernando Alonso.

In the opening races of this season the defending champion has been completely eclipsed by his rookie team-mate and media darling, Lewis Hamilton. The young Briton arrived in Monaco on Wednesday as the youngest ever championship leader, the only driver to have taken podiums in his first quartet of races. The frenzy was alarming.

And three steps behind, like a faithful retainer, strode Alonso, almost ignored in the flash bulb glare. Six months ago no one could get enough of the taciturn Spaniard. The youngest world champion had become the youngest double title winner in a titanic battle that raged until the final race.

And the champion is believed to be privately seething at the attention being lavished on Hamilton and furious that this even younger upstart could so quickly and easily arrive at the Spaniard's own pace. So, the fightback starts here, in Monaco. The current master will teach the pup a lesson.

On Thursday, Alonso did what he does so well. He made it look easy. There was no aggression, no balls to the wall battling. He just stroked his McLaren Mercedes around the streets with zero errors. There wasn't even the tiniest flicker of poor control.

Hamilton by contrast made all the headlines, dumping his McLaren nose first into the barriers at the Sainte-Devote corner. It was shuddering impact and will have served as a wake-up call to Hamilton and his legion of frothing supporters. He may never have lost a race around these streets in junior series but this is F1, the big league is a different task.

But if Alonso looked the smoothest, the most likely to grab the all-important pole position here this afternoon, that other under-a-shadow driver, Kimi Raikkonen also made his point finishing the afternoon's free practice in second position ahead of Hamilton and 2003 winner Jarno Trulli, the Toyota driver being the day's surprise.

Raikkonen has been the subject of stern criticism of late, with many questioning the Finn's commitment after he exited the circuit in Spain a fortnight ago minutes after his race-ending car failure, to fly home to watch a hockey game.

Raikkonen, in characteristic no-nonsense style, dismissed the judgment out of hand and proved a point on Thursday putting his Ferrari just behind Alonso on the timesheet. He could rescue his battered reputation here tomorrow.

But what about Hamilton? He wasn't alone in crashing out yesterday. Others who hit the walls or barriers included old hands such as David Coulthard, Mark Webber and Ralf Schumacher. It wasn't the mistake of a rookie but one of pushing for that last 10th on a "green" track with little grip.

Hamilton, assured, clever and quick is unlikely to disappear beyond the top four tomorrow.

The top four here this afternoon will likely feature the dominant quartet this season - the two McLaren stars, Raikkonen and his pole specialist Ferrari team-mate Felipe Massa - but Monaco has a habit of throwing up strange finishes.

Last year the joker in the pack was David Coulthard but the dark horses though could be BMW's Nick Heidfeld or perhaps Trulli.