McLaren - Mercedes boss Ron Dennis still loves Fernando Alonso at this point of the 2007 F1 Season

It's either Ron Dennis is starting to give Fernando a little love after all this Lewis Hamilton craze or he's just infatuated with his Spanish champion.

Apparently, McLaren - Mercedes boss Ron Dennis STILL loves his two-time F1 World Champion, Fernando Alonso. He has to anyway, after all the dough it took to pry him out of Renault and away from the hands of Flavio Briatore.

Speaking of which, we haven't heard anything from Flavio Briatore since the 2007 F1 season started. Must be something to do with the pathetic campaign his Renault team has been having since losing Fernando Alonso to McLaren.

And it looks like Fernando Alonso is not missing Renault anyway after all that love the McLaren boss has been showering him with lately. Of course, watching a rookie named Lewis Hamilton get more attention in McLaren is a completely different story.

But I guess Alonso would have to live with the fact that his boss STILL likes him, despite being outplayed by a child this season.

McLaren - Mercedes boss Ron Dennis called Fernando Alonso his ''man of the race'' despite finishing 7th in the recently concluded 2007 French Grand Prix at Magny-Cours. The 7th place finish let his rookie teammate Lewis Hamilton widen the gap between them by as many as 14 championship points in the drivers' championship standings.

Hamilton now has 64 while Alonso has 50. They are No.1 and No.2 respectively in the race for the 2007 F1 drivers' championship.

''Both drivers put in solid performances, and particularly Fernando, who for me was the man of the race with his various battles against Heidfeld and Fisichella,'' McLaren boss Ron Dennis said.

''Fernando's race was always going to be challenging starting from 10th, but our aim was to score points, which he did. (7th place gets you two points in F1...) However it is clear that we were not as competitive as we hoped, but coming to our home Grand Prix in Silverstone next weekend, we are still leading both World Championships and we will be strong there.''

Who will win the 2007 F1 championship? Bodog has the odds.

Kimi Raikkonen 7/4

Fernando Alonso 7/4

Lewis Hamilton 9/2

Felipe Massa 5/2

Want more odds? Visit OddsHQ for more F1 betting odds and the best betting lines on some of today's biggest sporting events.

Fernando Alonso 2007 British Grand Prix