Where did Fernando Alonso start and why is he still on the grid?
The start of his F1 career
Fernando Alonso joined F1 in 2001, 24 years ago, with the team Minardi. For perspective, none of the 2025 rookies were even born when Alonso started in F1. After not scoring any points in his rookie season, he joined Renault as a test driver in 2002 and became a full time driver in 2003.
His 2003 season caused him to become the youngest pole sitter, at the time, at just the second race of the season, the Malaysian Grand Prix, and the youngest race winner, at the time, at the Hungarian Grand Prix, breaking Bruce McLaren’s record. He finished the season in 6th place with 55 points.
He continued his success in 2004. The Spaniard finished on the podium 4 times throughout the season and took pole at the French Grand Prix. Despite this success, he really burst on the scene in 2005.
His championships
Alonso won his first title in 2005 after winning seven races across the season. He spent the season battling McLaren’s Kimi Raikkonen, and while the McLaren was faster, it was also unreliable, allowing for Alonso to take the championship. He is the first World Drivers Champion from Spain and was the then youngest champion at age 24.
He went on to win the 2006 championship as well after a close battle with Michael Schumacher. Alonso won six of the first nine races of the season, but Renault faced an issue with their mass damper system being banned mid season, allowing for Ferrari to even the score until the second to last race.
Post championships
In 2007, Alonso moved to McLaren where he raced alongside rookie Lewis Hamilton. The relationship between the two McLaren drivers was a bit rocky with some incidents happening over the course of the season. In the end, Hamilton and Alonso went into the last race with a chance at the title, but ended with Alonso finishing third, tied with Hamilton who had more second place finishes, and just one point behind champion Kimi Raikkonen.
After just one year in McLaren, Alonso moved back to Renault for the 2008 and 2009 seasons. The 2008 season came with a lot of drama for the Renault team with the Crashgate scandal causing some tensions. He won multiple races in 2008, before not winning any in the 2009 season.
To learn more about Crashgate and its effect on the 2008 season click here!
In 2010, Alonso signed with Ferrari where he was there until 2014. In 2010, he finished as runner up to champion Sebastian Vettel by four points. He finished 4th place in the 2011 season behind the Redbull drivers and Jenson Button. Alonso finished runner up in both the 2012 and 2013 seasons, before placing 6th in the 2014 season.
In 2015, Alonso returned to McLaren and remained there until 2018. His return to McLaren didn’t go as planned as the team's Honda engine was under powered. He finished 17th in 2015, 10th in 2016, 15th in 2017, and 11th in 2018.
His retirement and return to the grid
2018 saw Alonso announcing his retirement from the sport, but spoiler alert that didn’t last long as he returned to the grid in 2021. Throughout 2019, he stayed on as a McLaren brand ambassador, but didn’t extend his contract beyond that.
During his time away from F1, he took part in the World Endurance Championship in 2018 and 2019, and won the prestigious 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2018 and 2019. He also attempted to take part in the Indianapolis 500 in 2019, but he failed to qualify. He also took part in the 2020 Dakar Rally for Toyota where he finished 13th.
Alonso returned to F1 in 2021 with Alpine on a two year deal. In his first race back, he managed to qualify ninth, but had to retire during the race after a sandwich wrapper got lodged in the car's brake duct. He continued to struggle throughout the season and finished the season in tenth place. He continued with Alpine in 2022 where he finished in 9th place.
In 2023, Alonso moved to Aston Martin alongside Lance Stroll and that is the team he still drives with now. 2023 was a great season for the Spaniard as he had eight podium finishes and finished fourth in the championship. Since then, Aston Martin has fallen off a bit. Alonso finished 2024 in 9th place and 2025 in tenth.
It will definitely be interesting to see how the 2026 season will end up with the new regulations!