Fernando Alonso

With Formula 1's summer break over, Fernando Alonso's hopes of becoming world champion for a third time looked remote.

The memories of his debut Ferrari win at Bahrain and his controversial success in Germany forgotten, the Spaniard's season looked likely to fizzle out anonymously.

However, since then his fortune has turned on its head. Back-to-back grand prix wins in Italy and Singapore have made him the form man in championship and the EDGE Performer of the Month for September by a sizeable margin.

Jimmie Johnson was his nearest challenger throughout September has he took one win and a pair of additional podium finishes from the four NASCAR Sprint Cup races during the month.

Helio Castroneves, who won both of the month's IndyCar Series races, NASCAR driver Denny Hamlin and F1 world champion Jenson Button completed September's top five.

Ranking Year

Alonso's early career was a whirlwind one. After winning six national karting titles in Spain, he made his car racing debut at the age of 17 and became Formula Nissan champion in that maiden season - 1999.

After just one race-winning campaign in International F3000 the following year he was thrust into F1 with the tail-end Minardi squad, but made his reputation by thrashing his more experienced team-mate Tarso Marques and occasionally running with the far quicker Benettons, Saubers and Jaguars during the year.

A management deal with Flavio Briatore already in his pocket, he became Renault test driver the following season and assumed a race seat with the squad in 2003.

He became the first Spaniard to win a world championship grand prix in Hungary that year and then broke Emerson Fittipaldi's 33-year-old record to become the sport's youngest world champion in 2005.

A move to McLaren after winning a second world title came in 2007, and resulted in him missing out on a third crown by just a single point to Kimi Raikkonen, but the fall-out from the spying scandal forced him to leave at the end of the year and return to Renault.

Not until his move to Ferrari this year did he become a regular winner again, and his four victories in 2010 has not only put him second in the World Championship, it has also moved him up from 19th to fifth in the Castrol Rankings.

During his 153-race career, Alonso has won 25 grands prix - putting him equal sixth with Jim Clark and Niki Lauda on the all-time winners list - taken 20 pole position and set 17 fastest laps in addition to winning two world titles. Of the current F1 line-up, only Michael Schumacher has had more success. Alonso won't stop trying to match him though.