Fernando Alonso Diaz, born July 29th 1981, is a Spanish driver currently competing for Aston Martin in Formula One. In 2005 and 2006 he won back to back Championships with Renault, competing against the likes of Michael Schumacher at Ferrari and Kimi Raikkonen at McLaren. At the time, Alonso was the youngest driver in F1 history to win a World Championship, and his title victory ended five straight years of Ferrari dominance with Schumacher. But in 2007 Alonso switched to McLaren after Raikkonen left for Ferrari. At McLaren, he would be partnered with a young rookie, Lewis Hamilton, who would give him a run for his money. It was a memorable year and a close fight that ended with Alonso and Hamilton being tied in points, both losing out on the championship to Raikkonen, who ended the season only one point ahead. Alonso made his F1 debut with the Minardi team in 2001 before moving to Renault as a reserve driver in 2002. Since that time he has driven for McLaren, Ferrari (finishing second in the championship three times in five years), then back to McLaren for four years, back to Renault (rebranded as Alpine) for two years and now for Aston Martin. In 2018 he won the 24 Hours of Le Mans with the Toyota Gazoo Racing team and took 2019 and 2020 off from Formula One to compete in the World Endurance Championship series, which he won while racking up another victory at Le Mans. A fierce competitor, Alonso has also attempted the Indianapolis 500 three times with McLaren providing the car, nearly winning the first outing by qualifying fifth and running with the lead pack until his engine failed on lap 179. It was a valiant effort, and a win would have cemented his place in the history books alongside Graham Hill as one of only two men to complete the Triple Crown of Motorsports- A victory at the Monaco GP, a win at Le Mans and a win at the Indy 500. There’s no doubt that Alonso will keep chasing that elusive third Formula One title and the Triple Crown and whatever else comes along until he’s physically unable to compete.
Fernando was born in Oviedo, Asturias in Northern Spain to Jose Luis Alonso, a mine-shaft explosives factory mechanic, and Ana Diaz, a department store employee. Fernando also has an older sister, Lorena, who is now a doctor and five years his senior. Back in the day, Fernando’s father, Jose, was an amateur kart racer and wanted to find a hobby that he could share with his children, so he built a go-kart for Lorena, who was completely uninterested. At the time, Fernando was only three years old, so the pedals had to be adjusted, but the kart ended up going to him. By age seven he was already starting to win races and eventually won the Spanish Junior Championship three years in a row before moving on with help from a local go-kart importer, Genis Marco, who found some personal and sponsorship money to help the Alonso family carry on and enter the European series. In the early days, Fernando even worked as a mechanic for younger kart racers to earn extra money, but it all paid off when he joined the Minardi team at the age of 19 and found his spot on the F1 grid.
Over the years since 2001 Alonso has raced for five different teams in his quest to be the ultimate competitor. He will never give up. He wants to win and be the best at everything he does. Whether it’s F1, tennis, cards or racing his grandmother to school as a kid, he will find a way. Surprisingly, when asked if he feels that he deserves more championships or wins or a better car, his answer is “No, I don’t”, even though a lot of fans might disagree. He says he’s been very fortunate to have the wins he has and that he has been in some of the best cars over the years, particularly in 2005, 2006 and 2007. He won the championship with those cars two out of three times. Not bad. He’s quick to acknowledge that there are a lot of great drivers that never get a car that’s fast enough to win world championships. Some never even get the chance to compete or stay in Formula One for whatever reason. Bad luck, maybe. He is extremely grateful to have had the opportunity to compete for titles against Schumacher, Raikkonen, Hamilton and Vettel in his early years. Some of those coming down to the final race of the season. Does that mean he’s satisfied? He’s at peace with the fact that a third championship might not come, but he’s not giving up. He sees Aston Martin as his best opportunity over the next few years and wants to help build the team, even if it’s only to pave the road for a future champion. And while Alonso is currently the oldest driver on the grid, he wouldn’t be the oldest to win a championship. That distinction currently belongs to the legendary Fangio, who won his last title at the age of 46. Clearly, Fernando Alonso is still re-writing the history books and will not do down without a fight.