The Mexican Grand Prix 2024 will etch its name in history books. It is a record 400th Grand Prix entry for the Spanish driver Fernando Alonso. He is going to be the first F1 driver to do so. His racecraft, pace, determination, hunger, and love for the sport, contributed to this incredible milestone. His F1 journey might have had an abrupt end in 2009. But then, he is entering his 400th Grand Prix today. How did he reach here? What were his highs and lows? Let’s have a brief look into his glorious career.
Gentlemen, a short view back to the past…
Fernando Alonso was born to a working-class family in Oviedo, Asturias, Northern Spain on 29 July, 1981. He began Karting at a tender age of 3. His father was a mechanic in mineshaft explosives factory and an amateur Karting driver, and his mother was a department store employee. His father built a go-kart for his elder sister Lorena, to which she showed no interest. Little Fernando received the kart as a result, and a journey to greatness began here.
His family struggled to keep up with costs of motorsport, forcing Fernando to drive with slick tyres on wet races. Nonetheless, it was an opportunity in disguise for him to master wet-weather driving. After success in junior local, national and international tournaments, Fernando got the opportunity drive in F1 in 2001.
F1 debut
Fernando Alonso made his F1 debut in 2001 at the Australian Grand Prix for Minardi. In a backmarker team, he finished with 0 points in the season. His best finish (p10) came at Germany.
Renault debut, double world championships
Fernando Alonso moved to Renault F1 team in 2002 in test driver role. Renault boss Flavio Briatore wanted him to get familiarize with the team. He made his Renault debut in 2003 and broke records like youngest driver to secure pole position, youngest race winner, the same year. A couple of podium finishes, and consistent improvements rounded off 2003 and 2004.
His dream run came in 2005, when he won his first championship. Thanks to the regulation changes prohibiting tyre change during races and requiring engine to last at least 2 races before they could be changed. It put an end to Ferrari and Michael Schumacher’s dominance in the sport. Fernando fought with Mclaren’s Kimi Raikkonen for the championship. His car was slower compared to the Mclaren but was more reliable. Ultimately, the reliability of Renault and Fernando’s brilliance emerged victorious. He finished with 133 points, 21 points ahead of his rival Kimi.
Resurgent Ferrari and Michael Schumacher gave Alonso a run for his money in 2006. The Spaniard and the German drivers were involved in some of the best title battles but Alonso again came on top. Defeating Michael by 13 points, Alonso successfully defended his championship and scored 134 points in the season.
Switching teams, controversies, missing title by whisker…
Mclaren secured the services of defending champion for 3 years in 2007. He was paired against rookie Lewis Hamilton and the duo had the job to take on the Ferraris of Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa. The 2007 season was surrounded by controversies. The spygate, the feud between Lewis and Alonso, which ruined what could have been double championships for Mclaren in 2007.
Spygate ruled them out of constructors as F1 disqualified Mclaren from it. While drivers were allowed to compete, Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen snatched title by just 1 point. Both Alonso and Lewis finished with 109 points each, and are themselves to be blamed for ruining each other in the championship.
He returned to Renault in 2008 breaking his contract from Mclaren. Things changed for the Spanish master. His Renault was nowhere near the title contenders- Ferrari and Mclaren. A difficult year and the stigma of Singapore crashgate, 2008 was a season to forget for Alonso. If 2008 was bad, 2009 was an all-time disaster. He finished 9th with mediocre 26 points. He stood on podium only once this season- at the German Grand Prix.
Switch to Ferrari in 2010 brought a new hope. He stayed there until 2014 and finished runner up in 2010, 2012 and 2013. His performances in Ferrari truly established his legacy. The car barely matched Red Bull in those days. Yet, he pulled off 2 insane title charge in 2010 and 2012. Outperforming his car every single time, Fernando missed by title by just 4 points in 2010 and 3 points in 2012.
He did everything possible, putting his Ferrari in positions it didn’t deserve to be, but Red Bull-Sebastian Vettel pairing was brutally good. His glory days were over in 2013. Though he managed 2 wins, it was nothing compared to what Vettel did with the Red Bull car.
Awful Mclaren partnership, first retirement and return
Following 2014 disaster with Ferrari, he switched sides again. Decided to join Mclaren from 2015 without knowing that a horrific stint was waiting for him. The Honda powered Mclaren car gave Alonso his worst nightmare. Poor pace, disastrous reliability gave Alonso nothing but pain. Though that particular phase gave best pieces of team radio. Streets will never forget that iconic ‘GP2’ engine remark on radio or that “Mate I have no power, no tyres” one.
He retired at the end of 2018, moved to other racing series. Tried his hands at Indycar, Endurance racing and came back from retirement in 2021 with Alpine. Renault was rebranded as Alpine, and asked Fernando to go through rookie tests, giving birth to ‘Fernando is still a rookie’ memes. Two seasons in midfield with Alpine and a troubled on-track relationship with teammate Esteban Ocon.
He moved to Aston Martin in 2023 and was again in front of the field (only for half of the season). The AMR-23 started off as 2nd or 3rd fastest car and Alonso bagged podiums after podiums. Aston fell midway back to the midfield thanks to their failed upgrades. Fernando Alonso had an excellent season with 206 points and a respectable 4th in drivers championship.
In 2024, Aston is at 5th in constructors with no one challenging their spot. Alonso fell to a lonely 9th in the championship this year. He extended his contract with the Aston Martin for a couple of seasons and with Adrian Newey coming in 2025, him being at the front again challenging for wins, podiums or maybe even championships is possible.
Despite his age, he has showed tremendous longevity and pace. While many drivers start to fade away once they enter mid 30s, Alonso (in his 40s) is still strong to compete at the highest level. When Fernando made his debut all the way back in 2001, drivers like Oscar Piastri, Franco Colapinto, Liam Lawson were not even born. In fact, the 2025 Mercedes driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli, was born months after Alonso’s first championship.
He recently revealed on the Beyond the grid podcast about him pondering retirement after 2009. He said he thought of retiring after completing his 3-year contract with Mclaren because he didn’t know what to do after that. He achieved his dream of driving in F1, won 2 championships. It was 99% clear in his mind.
But destiny had other plans and here he is today. Established himself among the greatest of the sport, numbers will never define his legacy. Fernando Alonso is that driver who knows how to extract most from the car, is one of few racers operating in grey areas pushing rules and cars to their absolute limits.
