Alonso protests innocence before race

GMM) Fernando Alonso was in no mood to chat as a swarm of media engulfed him on Sunday.

Having controversially secured pole in Hungary on Saturday, the Spaniard awoke for the grand prix in Budapest to learn that he had been demoted to sixth after stewards ruled that he "unnecessarily impeded" his McLaren teammate.

"You can write what you want to write," Alonso told journalists in Hungary.

"Perhaps the stewards don't know the rules well enough. I did not do anything wrong. I did not offend against any rule."

His McLaren team, docked of any potential championship points, was equally unhappy in the hours before the race.

In a statement, the Ron Dennis-led outfit slammed the penalties as not "appropriate" and said its explanations to the stewards had been "misunderstood".