Fernando Alonso is a Spanish Formula One driver racing for Aston Martin Aramco F1 Team. He is a two time World Champion, 32-time Grand Prix winner, and the most experienced driver in F1 history with over 420 race starts. His titles came in 2005 and 2006 with Renault, making him the first Spanish Formula One World Champion and, at 24, the youngest in history at the time.

His career has three acts: the dominant Renault title years, a long and largely unlucky search for a third championship across McLaren and Ferrari, and a late-career second chapter that has produced podiums, records, and an undiminished hunger for one final shot at glory.

Profile at a Glance

Early Life

The Kart Built for His Sister

Alonso grew up in a working-class family in Oviedo. His father Jose Luis worked as a mining industry explosive expert and amateur kart racer. He built a miniature kart for his eight-year-old daughter Lorena, who quickly lost interest. Her three-year-old brother climbed in and never wanted to get out.

The family could not afford rain tyres, so Fernando learned wet-condition driving on slicks - an enforced hardship that later became one of the most admired skills of his career. His mother sewed his racing overalls. His father was his mechanic, accountant, and first manager. When a scout offered Fernando a goalkeeper trial at RC Celta de Vigo, his father turned it down.

Go-kart importer Genis Marco spotted him in his early teens, mentored him, and found sponsorship money to put him into European series. From age seven, Alonso would devise imaginary timing sectors on his walk to school, mentally rehearsing lines and improvements every morning.

Karting (1984-1998)

Alonso won his first race at age seven. He took three consecutive Spanish Junior National Championships from 1993 to 1995, the CIK-FIA 5 Continents Juniors Cup in 1996, and both the Italian and Spanish International A championships in 1997. By seventeen, he was ready for cars.

Junior Career

Euro Open by Nissan (1999): Alonso won the title with Campos Motorsport on his car racing debut, taking six wins and nine poles. The championship prize included a test in a Minardi F1 car at Jerez. He was seventeen.

International Formula 3000 (2000): Racing with the Minardi-backed Astromega team against future F1 drivers including Mark Webber, he finished fourth overall with a podium in Hungary and a win at Spa. Minardi boss Paul Stoddart promoted him to a race seat for 2001.

Formula One Career

Minardi and Renault Test Driver (2001-2002)

Alonso made his F1 debut at the 2001 Australian Grand Prix with Minardi. The car was uncompetitive and he scored no points, but impressed enough for Renault, managed by Flavio Briatore, to sign him as a test driver for 2002.

Youngest Winner and Polesitter-Renault (2003–2004)

Promoted to the Renault race team for 2003, Alonso became the youngest polesitter in F1 history at the Malaysian Grand Prix and the youngest race winner at the Hungarian Grand Prix, aged 22 years and 26 days. He finished sixth in the championship. A strong 2004 followed with four more podiums and a pole at the French Grand Prix.

First World Championship-Renault 2005

Alonso won seven Grands Prix and converted the title with two races remaining, ending Michael Schumacher and Ferrari's five-year reign of dominance. At 24 years and 58 days, he was the youngest World Drivers' Champion in history at the time.

Second World Championship-Renault 2006

Alonso retained his title with seven more wins, beating Schumacher by 13 points. He drove the entire season in a single chassis without it being replaced. It was the peak of his career at Renault. He then announced he was leaving for McLaren.

McLaren and Hamilton (2007)

The 2007 season became one of the most turbulent in F1 history. Alonso arrived as double world champion alongside rookie Lewis Hamilton. Their relationship deteriorated sharply as the season progressed. Both drivers were tied on points going into the final round in Brazil. Kimi Raikkonen won the race and took the title by a single point from both of them. Alonso left McLaren at the end of the year.

Return to Renault (2008-2009)

Alonso won twice in 2008, including the Singapore Grand Prix, but could not challenge for the title. The 2009 car was uncompetitive. He signed with Ferrari for 2010.

Ferrari-Three Runner Up Finishes (2010-2014)

The Ferrari years produced some of Alonso's most celebrated drives and most painful near-misses. He lost the 2010 title to Sebastian Vettel by four points in a car widely considered the third-fastest on the grid. He lost the 2012 title to Vettel by three points in a car clearly inferior to the Red Bull. He took 11 wins across four seasons and was consistently assessed as performing beyond his machinery.

Ferrari race engineer Andrea Stella compared his competitive will directly to Schumacher, describing it as equally intense in nature. He left after a winless 2014 and returned to McLaren.

McLaren-Honda-The Difficult Years (2015-2018)

The McLaren-Honda partnership struggled severely across four seasons. The power unit was both unreliable and slow. In 2017, Alonso skipped the Monaco Grand Prix to race at the Indianapolis 500, qualifying fifth, leading 27 laps, and retiring with engine failure. He was named Rookie of the Year. McLaren switched to Renault power for 2018 and Alonso announced he was leaving F1 at the end of the year.

Sabbatical-Le Mans and the Triple Crown (2018-2020)

Alonso spent two years pursuing the Triple Crown of Motorsport: winning the Monaco Grand Prix, the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and the Indianapolis 500. He already had Monaco twice.

Racing with Toyota Gazoo Racing, he won Le Mans in both 2018 and 2019 and took the FIA World Endurance Championship title, making him the only driver in history to have held both the F1 and FIA WEC titles. He also won the 24 Hours of Daytona in 2019. Two more Indianapolis attempts in 2019 and 2020 did not yield the win. The Triple Crown remains incomplete.

Alpine Return (2021-2022)

Alonso returned to the rebranded Renault team for 2021, taking his first podium in seven years at the Qatar Grand Prix. In 2022, he broke the record for most career F1 starts, passing Kimi Raikkonen's previous mark.

Aston Martin (2023-2025)

Alonso's first Aston Martin season in 2023 was one of the most impressive of his later career. He scored eight podiums, including his 100th career podium at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, finished fourth in the championship, and scored 206 of the team's 280 points. At 41, he was among the quickest drivers on the grid.

The car lost competitiveness in 2024 and 2025 as the team prioritised 2026 development. At the 2024 Mexican Grand Prix he became the first driver in F1 history to start 400 Grands Prix. He drove cleanly through a difficult 2025 and waited for what comes next.

2026-Adrian Newey and Unfinished Business

Design legend Adrian Newey has joined Aston Martin as Technical Director ahead of the 2026 technical reset. Alonso enters his 26th year in Formula One at 44 years old, partnering Lance Stroll, with a team now built around the ambition of competing for a third world title.

He has said a strong 2026 could be his last season. He has also said he is not ready to stop.

The Triple Crown

Alonso is one of only two drivers in history, alongside Graham Hill, to have won both the Monaco Grand Prix and the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The Indianapolis 500 is the only piece missing. He has tried three times and has not finished with it. The attempt is not over.

Legacy

Alonso is placed among the greatest Formula One drivers of all time. Martin Brundle has described him as "Senna-like in his intimate feel for where the grip is." Journalist Nigel Roebuck credited him with making F1 a mainstream sport in Spain. Carlos Sainz Jr. observed there are "two Fernandos", noting the gap between his private warmth and the intensely competitive persona he projects publicly.

He holds the record for most F1 starts (422+), ranks seventh on the all-time wins list, and was inducted into the FIA Hall of Fame twice — in 2017 and 2019 — making him the first driver to receive the honour twice.

Personal Life

Alonso was married to Spanish singer Raquel del Rosario from 2006 to 2011. In December 2025, it was announced he is expecting his first child with Spanish journalist Melissa Jimenez, due in March 2026. He supports Real Madrid and Real Oviedo, is a committed cyclist, and is the founder of fashion brand Kimoa. He has been a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador since 2005.

In 2015, Oviedo opened the Fernando Alonso Sports Complex and the Museo y Circuito Fernando Alonso, housing his cars, helmets, and career memorabilia. A permanent tribute from the city where it all started, in the kart his father built for someone else.

Career Statistics

Career totals: 32 wins, 22 poles, 106 podiums, 422+ race starts

Last updated March 2026