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The return of Alonso: This is what his rich career looked like

The return of Alonso: This is what his rich career looked like

25-11-2021 20:57
1

GPblog.com

Fernando Alonso was once again on the podium after the Qatar Grand Prix. For a while it was a familiar sight with the Spaniard, who has had a lot of experiences in his rich Formula 1 career. What has the career of the 40-year-old Alonso looked like over the past twenty years?

The driver, who was born in the Spanish city of Oviedo, is already known as a talented driver at a young age. It is therefore not surprising that Alonso already made his Formula 1 debut at the age of 19. Minardi offered him the opportunity that season. Although he could not compete for the points because of the inferior car, he showed his talent during the qualifications several times.

Alonso wins world titles at Renault

After a strong season in 2001 Alonso takes on the role of test driver at Renault. One year later the Spanish driver was allowed to take up a permanent position, which surprised him again. Whereas he finished sixth in the world championship in his first season, it was only in the following years that he really started to perform.

Alonso started 2005 with an excellent third place in Australia and victories in Malaysia, Bahrain and San Marino. For the rest of the season the Spaniard battled Kimi Räikkönen for the world title and proved to be the strongest in the end, crowning himself the youngest world champion ever. Later on Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel would take this title from him.

During the following season Alonso had to deal with the pressure of being the favourite, but he proved to be very capable of doing so. Two races before the end of the season he is still in a tie with Michael Schumacher. Due to engine problems the German lost the battle in the penultimate race, after which Alonso grabbed his second world title for Renault.

Difficult period for Alonso at other teams

A year later, Alonso left for McLaren to fight for the world championship again together with Hamilton. Both drivers immediately engaged in a fierce battle in 2007, with Kimi Räikkönen ultimately being the big winner of the season. Hamilton finished in second place and Alonso in third. At the end of the season Alonso announced his return to Renault.

The return did not turn out to be a great success. Whereas Hamilton fought Felipe Massa to the world title until the last race, Alonso only managed a fifth place. In the second year since his return to Renault the Spaniard did even less well. Alonso had to settle for ninth place and scored only 26 points.

In 2010, Alonso came into action for Ferrari, where he managed to impress straight away in the first race. Alonso finished first in Bahrain, raising expectations for the Italian team, but Vettel proved too strong to take the world title. In the years that followed, the German at Red Bull Racing proved to be of a different category, leaving him without any prizes until 2014.

Alonso then drove for the ambitious McLaren for four more seasons, but that didn't turn out to be a success. The team lacked the speed to compete with the bigger teams, and Alonso found himself amongst the grey masses. Therefore, the driver decided to leave Formula 1.

Alonso returns to Alpine

At the beginning of this season Alonso announced that he would return to Renault, which has been renamed Alpine since 2021. The Spaniard has made a good impression since the beginning of the year and was in the way of his former team mate Hamilton on a number of occasions. Third place at the Qatar GP was the reward for his hard work. Two races before the end of the season he has 77 points, more than teammate Esteban Ocon.