Fernando Alonso is a renowned Spanish racing driver currently competing for Aston Martin since 2023 in Formula One.
Born on 29 July 1981 in Oviedo, Asturias, Alonso hails from a working-class family and started kart racing at the tender age of three. He achieved immense success in local, national, and world-karting championships, making a name for himself as a driver to watch.
At 17, Alonso entered car racing and won the 1999 Euro Open by Nissan. A year later, he went on to secure fourth place in the 2000 International Formula 3000 Championship.
With several successful years of racing, Alonso debuted in Formula One with Minardi in 2001 before joining Renault as a test driver in 2002. In 2003, he was promoted to a race seat, marking the beginning of his journey towards F1 greatness.
Alonso’s talent and skill as a driver shone brightly in 2005 and 2006 when he won back-to-back Drivers’ Championships, becoming the youngest pole-sitter, youngest race winner, youngest world champion, and youngest two-time champion in the sport’s history at the time while driving for Renault.
In 2007, Alonso moved to McLaren to seek further glory and finished just one point behind eventual 2007 World Champion Kimi Räikkönen before returning to Renault for 2008 and 2009. The move was prompted by a fractured relationship with then-team owner Ron Dennis and teammate Lewis Hamilton. He won two races for Renault in 2009 and finished fifth in the championship.
Alonso then drove for Ferrari from 2010 to 2014, finishing runner-up to Sebastian Vettel in 2010, 2012, and 2013. Notably, the title battles in 2010 and 2012 went down to the season’s last race.
After another stint with McLaren from 2015 to 2018, which resulted in no further success, Alonso took a two-year sabbatical before returning to Formula One in 2021 with Alpine. While driving for Alpine, Alonso scored his first podium in seven years at that season’s Qatar Grand Prix.
At the 2022 Singapore Grand Prix, he broke the record for most starts in Formula One and at the 2023 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, while driving for Aston Martin, Alonso scored his 100th podium by finishing third, becoming one of six drivers in F1 history to achieve that feat, further cementing his legacy as one of the greatest F1 drivers of all time.
