F1 LEGENDS | FERNANDO ALONZO
Welcome to the third installment of this series, in which I talk about the early life struggles, hurdles, breakthroughs & passion with which they became Legendary Formula 1 drivers and made their mark in F1 history.
By the way, if you haven't checked out my other installments of this series then I recommend you to check them out by clicking on this link — to read about Four-Time World Champion “Sabastian Vettel” and on this link — to read about Seven-Time World Champion “Lewis Hamilton”.
Now, join me and I’ll take you on a journey through the life of the most resilient & committed driver whose name is synonymous with “Unstoppable Racer” in F1 sport that is non-other than….. “Fernando Alonzo”.
ORIGIN
Fernando Alonso Diaz was born on 29 July 1981, in Oviedo, a city in the Asturias region of northern Spain, where his mother worked in a department store and his father was employed in the mining industry as an explosive expert. His parents were both involved in motorsports and from a young age, Alonso had a keen interest in racing. At the age of three, he got his first go-kart, and he was soon racing in local competitions. His skills were quickly recognized, and by the time he was nine, his name was engraved on several Kart championship trophies.
However, further progress would require more funding than his family’s limited resources could provide. While his parents fully supported their son’s increasingly successful pastime, with his father acting as his mechanic at the races and his mother making sure he also got good marks at school, Fernando knew the only way forward was to get sponsors by winning races, which he continued to do. Age proved to be no barrier, he was invariably the youngest driver in every category, and more often the best. By his mid-teens, his collection of kart titles included a world championship.
A SHORT STAY IN FORMULA JUNIOR
Alonso’s passion for racing continued to grow, and at the age-of-14, he moved to Barcelona to pursue his dream of becoming a professional racing driver. He joined the Renault Driver Development Program, where he was mentored by the former Formula One driver, Luis Perez Sala. Alonso’s talent and dedication soon paid off, and in 1999, he won the Spanish Formula Junior Championship.
STEPPING INTO THE WORLD OF FORMULA ONE (2001–2007)
In 2001, Alonso made his debut in the Formula One world championship as a test driver for the Minardi team. The following year, he secured a race seat with the team and made his race debut at the Australian Grand Prix. Although the Minardi team was not competitive, Alonso’s talent was evident, and he impressed many in the paddock with his driving skills.
In 2003, Alonso joined the Renault F1 team as a test driver, and in the following year, he was promoted to a race seat. It was with Renault that Alonso’s career truly took off. He won his first Grand Prix in Hungary in 2003, becoming the youngest driver ever to win a Formula One race at the time.
In 2005, Alonso won his first Formula One world championship, becoming the youngest driver ever to do so. He followed this up with another world championship in 2006, cementing his place as one of the best drivers in the world.
A CONTROVERSIAL STINT WITH MCLAREN (2008–2010)
At the end of 2007, in pursuit of a new challenge, Alonso left Renault to join the McLaren team, but his time with the team & Lewis Hamilton was fraught with controversy and internal politics, which caused his return to Renault in 2008, where he spent two more seasons before joining Ferrari in 2010.
A STRUGGLING PERIOD WITH FERRARI (2010–2014)
In 2010, he fulfilled the aspirations of every driver by securing the position of team leader at Ferrari. Immediately, he returned to his winning form, triumphing in five races and securing a second-place finish in the championship. In 2011, due to Ferrari’s inconsistent performance, he could only achieve a solitary victory and ended up in fourth place overall.
The remarkable 2012 season witnessed him coming agonizingly close to clinching his third driving title, narrowly missing out by a mere three points to his fierce competitor Sebastian Vettel. Nonetheless, Fernando Alonso distinguished himself during what he deemed as his “my best ever season”, persistently pushing his Ferrari, which was far from being the fastest to its limits and beyond. His bid for the championship was a testament to his indomitable spirit, strategic racing skills, and flawless driving that remained steadfast throughout.
In 2013, he continued to exhibit remarkable performance as he secured a second-place finish overall, despite Sebastian Vettel’s overwhelming dominance throughout the year. Despite driving a Ferrari that was never considered more than the third strongest car on the grid, Alonso achieved victory on two occasions, attained second place in five races, consistently gained substantial points, and failed to score any points in only two races.
In 2014, the significant shortcomings of his car prevented the proud Spanish driver from achieving a single victory for the first time in his five-year tenure with a struggling Ferrari team. However, his status as the top driver of the era remained unblemished, as did his unwavering determination to prove his superiority by securing another championship. In pursuit of this goal, Alonso decided to set aside their previously strained relationship and reunite with the equally ambitious McLaren team.
RETURN TO MCLAREN (2015–2018)
In 2015, MCLAREN made a significant announcement, declaring their intentions to establish a solid groundwork for future dominance. They accomplished this by revitalizing their once formidable partnership with engine supplier Honda and appointing the renowned superstar Fernando Alonso as their new team leader.
In his 13th year in F1, the two-time world champion experienced his most challenging season yet. The 2015 MCLAREN-Honda he drove proved to be embarrassingly uncompetitive. Alonso found himself classified in the 17th position in the driver’s standings, while his team finished ninth out of the ten competing teams. The car was highly unreliable and, when it did function, it lacked the necessary speed. The consistent underperformance of his car led to mounting frustration for Alonso, who openly criticized his employer, going against the principle that a team should share both defeats and victories.
In his 13th and 14th seasons in F1, Fernando Alonso faced immense challenges with the underperforming McLaren-Honda team. Despite enduring embarrassingly uncompetitive equipment, his warrior mentality and reputation as a fierce competitor remained intact. In 2016, he finished 10th overall, while in 2017, the team’s struggles continued, resulting in a second-to-last position in the Constructors’ Championship. Alonso’s relentless determination drove him to race as hard as ever, salvaging points in a few races. Although his previous successes began fading, his unwavering commitment and relentless pursuit of excellence persisted, even in the face of disappointment.
McLaren concluded the 2017 season by terminating its collaboration with Honda and revealing a transition to Renault power for the upcoming 2018 season. This strategic decision played a significant role in persuading Fernando Alonso, who had once reigned supreme in the sport, to remain actively involved.
However, the struggle still continued and the Spaniard failed to secure any top position in drivers as well as constructors championships. However, critics thought that Alonzo’s talent has vanished but his stints in 6 Hrs of Spa & 24 Hrs of Le Mans in which he proved his skill & talent are still intact.
However, after trying everything he decided to leave the F1 world for some time to reflect on himself. So, he did and left the F1 World for whole 2-years (2019–2020).
A BRIEF TIME IN WORLD ENDURANCE CHAMPIONSHIPS (2018–2020)
During those 2-years away from F1 world, he participated in the FIA World Endurance Championship and the 24 Hours of Le Mans twice — all with the Toyota sportscar team and he was able to succeed in the sport by winning 6 out of 8 rounds of the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2018–19 and he tried to continue this domination in the next year of 2019–20 but due to mechanical & technical issues he failed to do it.
RETURN TO THE WORLD OF F1 IN 2021
In 2021, after a two-year absence from F1, the resilient Spanish driver, was determined to uphold his reputation and made a comeback by joining the Alpine F1 Team, previously known as Renault, the very team with which he had secured his two championship titles in 2005 and 2006.
However, upon his return to the F1 world, he reflected,
“When you make a comeback in the sport, there is no guarantee that you will immediately find success competitiveness, and enjoyment in Formula One.”
The experienced driver acknowledged that it took him some time to regain his rhythm after his return in 2021 with Alpine F1. He encountered a strong challenge from his talented young teammate, Esteban Ocon, who proved to be a formidable adversary.
In 2022, Esteban Ocon surpassed his teammate and secured the eighth position in the championship, while Fernando Alonso finished in ninth place. The Alpine team, benefiting from the progress of their cars, achieved an impressive fourth-place finish in the Constructors’ Championship, trailing behind Red Bull, Ferrari, and Mercedes. However, the growing tension between Alpine’s drivers occasionally posed a threat to the team’s accomplishments, overshadowing their achievements.
Thereby, due to these tensions & hurdles between Alonzo and the team, the team refused to give Alonzo a multi-year extension despite his effort and experience that made the team build their cars to become more competitive & reliable, instead, they offered him a single-year contract extension, therefore, he decided to move on and in that instance, he got an offer from Aston Martin as a lead driver as replacement of Legendary Sabastian Vettel for 2023-season with a Multi-year contract.
A NEW ERA OF SUCCESS
His decision of joining Aston Marin’s team as a lead driver alongside “Lance Stroll” and driving the more competitive & fast AMR23 Formula car was the best decision he ever made and since then it seems the winning days of Fernando Alonzo are back.
During his debut with Aston Martin at the Bahrain Grand Prix in 2023, Fernando Alonso showcased his skills, benefiting from the team’s significantly improved Aston Martin AMR23. Despite a first-lap collision with his teammate Lance Stroll, Alonso remarkably emerged unscathed and secured an impressive third-place finish, marking Aston Martin’s first podium since Sebastian Vettel’s achievement in the 2021 Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
In the subsequent Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, Alonso overcame a penalty for a grid positioning issue and secured another third-place finish, marking his 100th career podium, making him the sixth driver to reach this milestone in history. Although initially penalized for improper penalty serving, the team’s successful appeal reinstated his podium position.
Alonso continued his strong performance with another third-place finish in a chaotic Australian Grand Prix, where his car remained undamaged despite contact with Carlos Sainz Jr.’s Ferrari. Alonso supported Sainz’s view that the penalty imposed on him was excessively harsh.
Recently in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix qualifications, the Aston Martins faced challenges with DRS issues, resulting in eighth place in the sprint shootout qualification and sixth place in the main qualification. Alonso finished sixth in the sprint race and fourth in the main race.
Since, the beginning of the 2023-Season of Formula One Motorsport, Alonzo has consistently been able to achieve third place on the podium and brought valuable points to the table for the team, by statistics he achieved his career-best highest points in the opening 5-rounds of the F1 motorsport season that is around 75-points by defying all the odds.
WORK ETHIC & DETERMINATION
Alonso’s success was not just down to his driving skills. He was known for his tireless work ethic, and he would often spend hours analyzing data and working with his engineers to improve his performance. He was also a master at adapting to different racing conditions and all of these attributes contributed to his success.
However, in some interviews when a reporter asked him about his work ethic & how could he manage to do all that stuff, he simply replied:
I am just a normal guy, who loves to race.
Despite being in his 40s, Alonso’s skills and determination remain undiminished, and he continues to be a force to be reckoned with on the track.
FINAL THOUGHT
Fernando Alonso’s journey from a young boy with a passion for go-karting to a Two-Time Formula One world champion and his continued hustle to becoming a better racer is an inspiring story that shows what is possible with hard work, dedication, and a relentless pursuit of excellence showing that with the right mindset, anything is possible.
Guys thanks for reading this far, you must have enjoyed the journey through Two Time World Champions life 🏆🏎. So, if you want to read more about this type of story then stay tuned and follow me by using this link and check out my other articles that are based on different topics that will entertain you as well as inform you….till then Take Care, Stay Safe & Meet you in another Article!!!👋
