Alonso went on to win a second consecutive championship in 2006, beating Ferrari's Michael Schumacher in astraightfight, before moving to McLaren as Hamilton's team-mate in 2007.
That would leave the Democratic race as astraightfight between two candidates who offer a historic choice to America - the first black leader, or the first woman president.
The Lib Dems have said the Eastleigh contest is astraightfight between them and the Conservatives but Mr Farage said UKIP was "coming up strongly on the rails" with some polls suggesting support for his party was up 20% since the last election.