Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso

A blow-out at 190mph denied Lewis Hamilton a certain podium finish and put a smile on the face of Spain. Fernando Alonso complained before the Turkish Grand Prix of getting nothing back from McLaren for the World Championship experience he has brought. Fate was listening even if the McLaren leadership was not, ripping the tyre from Hamilton’s front right wheel with 15 laps to go.

A miracle is how Alonso described his unexpected dividend of a rostrum finish that looked remote as he watched two BMWs burn past him off the line, relegating him to sixth at turn one. A featureless afternoon required a bolt from the blue to liven events. Hamilton was Istanbul’s random victim.

The championship leader was cruising to third, 14 seconds ahead of his teammate, when misfortune struck. Hamilton managed to get his motor back to the pits but not before Alonso and Nick Heidfeld zipped past along the straight.

The episode eventually cost Hamilton two places and a three-point swing in the championship race. What would have been an eight-point lead going into the next Grand Prix in Monza is now five, a state of affairs for which he would have happily settled at the start of the campaign.

Equally, Alonso was delighted to accept any morsel providence dished up. “It was a nice reward after the start. To be overtaken by two cars and find yourself sixth at the first corner is not great. The race was pretty much over for me at that stage,” Alonso said.

“I was following Nick for 17 laps. I got past him in the first stop but I was half a minute behind the leaders. I then had to wait for the miracle. It was a relief to finish on the podium.”

As disasters go, it could have been much worse for Hamilton. One remembers the catastrophe that befell Nigel Mansell in 1986 when his rear left blew in the final race in Adelaide costing him the title by a point.

Rubber was shredding at an alarming rate as Hamilton shot straight through turn nine, nonetheless he was able to nurse his car back on to the circuit.

He will reflect that until that point he had the better of his teammate, marginal though it was, across the weekend. And though Ferrari had an edge here, Monza presents a different challenge and another opportunity.

By then the house hunting in Switzerland could be well under way. There’s a thought, Hamilton and Alonso as Alpine neighbours. Perhaps they can share a car to work.

Having had a taste of life as a paparazzi pin-up, Hamilton cannot wait to head for the hills. But do not be mislead — the move has little to do with intrusion.

As one McLaren source put it: “It’s strictly business.”

A policy known as the fiscal deal allows foreign nationals worth a minimum of £800,000 through the Swiss door. Tax is then calculated as a multiple of the weekly cost of lodgings, commonly between two and five times rent depending on the governing canton. A single boy can live modestly in the mountains.

Hamilton, meanwhile, invited his swelling army of followers not to worry. He may have gone home empty handed, but he was philosophical.

“I’ve lost two points. It’s a bit of a shame, but I’ll figure a way to gain them back somewhere else,” Hamilton said.