Sep.18 (GMM) The Spanish press rubbed salt in Lewis Hamilton's wounds in Belgium after national hero Fernando Alonso closed the championship gap to just two points.

"Hamilton is discovering how dangerous Alonso can be when he senses that a championship is near," wrote El Pais, the most widely circulated newspaper in Spain.

The sports daily Marca referred to Alonso's aggressive tactics at the first corner when it noted: "Hamilton had to swallow a dose of his own medicine."

El Mundo Deportivo observed: "Alonso is pursuing his British team colleague as if in a trance."

Diario As turned its attention to their wheel-to-wheel battle on the approach to the legendary Spa sequence Eau Rouge, where Hamilton - on the outside of the racing line - had to lift the throttle.

"The confrontation of the year," the newspaper claimed. "Whoever lost was going to suffer a hard moral blow in the fight for the championship."

But even his own countrymen are beginning to wonder whether the reigning GP2 champion can hold on to his title lead in his first year at McLaren.

"I've watched Hamilton very closely over the last couple of races," former McLaren driver Mark Blundell wrote in his column for the Telegraph, "and I wonder if the pressure is not starting to get to him."

The 22-year-old himself insists that he is not afraid "of anyone".

"I'm not afraid of the Ferraris and I am not afraid of Alonso," the rookie declared in British newspapers on Tuesday.

"I still feel positive," Hamilton added. "I know it's difficult to believe that, but I am still leading the world championship by two points.

"The last three races will be close. I will just keep on pushing. The gap is closing but there are still races left."