There was absolutely no pressure on Fernando Alonso over the weekend. After all, what's a ‘Monza' when it's at home?

Well, turns out it's quite important to a few Italians. In fact, very important. If you watched the weekend's GP, you'll no doubt have seen hundreds of thousands of Ferrari nutters dressed in red and baying for a podium finish. What with all this expectation heaped onto his generous thumbs, you'd forgive the mono-browed Spaniard for wanting a time-out before the race.

Fortunately, someone at Ferrari handed him the keys to the new 458 Spider before the race kicked off to let him unwind. Even more fortunately, someone handed the sound editing to the 570bhp 4.5-litre V8. This was a good move.

Gallery: the new Ferrari 458 Spider

The pre-race routine obviously worked, as anyone who saw Alonso's breath-taking start yesterday will testify. And don't forget the 458 Spider will get its public unveil at the Frankfurt motor show tomorrow, so check back with us more information and live updates.