Fernando Alonso

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Fernando Alonso

Alonso at the 2008 Canadian Grand Prix
Nationality Flag of Spain Spanish
Car # 5
Current team Renault F1
Formula One World Championship career
Races 112 (111 starts)
Championships 2 (2005, 2006)
Wins 19
Podium finishes 49
Pole positions 17
Career points 499
Fastest laps 11
First race 2001 Australian Grand Prix
First win 2003 Hungarian Grand Prix
Latest win 2007 Italian Grand Prix
Latest race 2008 Canadian Grand Prix
2007 position 3rd (109 pts)

Fernando Alonso Díaz (born July 29, 1981 in Oviedo, Spain) is a Spanish Formula One racing driver and a two-time world champion.

On September 25, 2005 he won the World Driver's Championship title at the age of 24 years and 58 days, thus breaking Emerson Fittipaldi's record of being the youngest F1 champion and is also the youngest double champion. In 2007, he became the second F1 driver, after Michael Schumacher, to score at least 100 points for three consecutive seasons. Nicknamed El Nano, Alonso acts as a Goodwill Ambassador for UNICEF[1] and is one of the directors of the GPDA.

Contents

[edit] Personal and early life

Fernando Alonso was born in Oviedo, Asturias in northern Spain. His mother worked in a department store and his father was employed as a mechanic in an explosives factory near Oviedo.[2] Alonso has an older sister, Lorena. Alonso's father José Luis, an amateur kart racer, wanted to pass on his passion to his children. He built a kart, originally meant for eight-year-old Lorena, but unlike her three-year-old brother, she showed no interest in the sport.[2]

Alonso rumoured to be married to Raquel del Rosario, lead singer of Spanish pop band El Sueño de Morfeo [3]. The two apparently married in November 2006.[4]

He currently lives in Oxford, England, and owns a house near Lake Geneva, Switzerland. He supports Liverpool football club.

[edit] Pre-Formula One

As a child, Alonso participated in karting competitions around Spain, supported by his father, who also doubled as his mechanic. His family lacked the financial resources needed to develop a career in motorsport, but his victories attracted sponsorship and the required funds. Alonso won four Spanish championships back-to-back in the junior category, between 1993 and 1996 and the Junior World Cup in 1996. He won the Spanish and Italian Inter-A titles in 1997 and in 1998 won the Spanish Inter-A title again as well as finishing second in the European Championship.

Former Minardi F1 driver Adrián Campos gave Alonso his first test in a race car in October 1998. After three days of testing at the Albacete circuit, Alonso had matched the lap times of Campos' previous driver Marc Gené.[5] Campos signed Alonso to race for him in the 1999 Spanish Euro Open MoviStar by Nissan series.[6] In his second race, again at Albacete, Alonso won for the first time. He took the championship by one point from championship rival Manuel Giao by winning and setting fastest lap at the last race of the season. Alonso also tested for the Minardi Formula One team, lapping 1.5 seconds faster than the other drivers at the test.[6]

The following season Alonso moved up to Formula 3000, which was often the final step for drivers before ascending to Formula One. Alonso joined Team Astromega and was the youngest driver in the series that year by eleven months.[6] Alonso didn't score a point until the seventh race of the year, but in the final two rounds he took a second place and a victory, enough for him to end the season fourth overall behind Bruno Junqueira, Nicolas Minassian and Mark Webber.[6]

[edit] Formula One

[edit] 2001: Minardi

See also: Minardi

Alonso was the third-youngest driver ever to start a F1 race when he made his debut with Minardi at the 2001 Australian Grand Prix. The team was in its first season under the control of new owner Paul Stoddart and their new car, the PS01, was neither fast nor reliable. However Alonso's qualifying performance was good, at his first race he out-qualified team mate Tarso Marques by 2.6s. At the fourth round at Imola he outqualified both of the Benettons, a feat he repeated later in the season.[6]

Notable performances over the 2001 season had earned him some attention from the faster teams. It was reported in September 2001 by some of the European press that Sauber were looking to replace outgoing Kimi Räikkönen with the Spaniard although he was facing competition for the seat from Felipe Massa and then Jaguar test driver Andre Lotterer.[7] A month later it was confirmed that Massa was going to take the vacant Sauber seat for 2002.[8]

In September, his manager Flavio Briatore had begun planning to place Alonso at Benetton. Briatore considered promoting Alonso for 2002, in place of his race driver Jenson Button, but instead chose to take Alonso on as a full-time test driver for 2002.[6] At the final round of 2001 at Suzuka he finished eleventh — five places outside the points but ahead, on merit, of Heinz-Harald Frentzen’s Prost (with a Ferrari engine), the BAR-Honda of Olivier Panis, the two Arrows and Alex Yoong (his new team mate).[6] Four years later, his team boss from the Minardi days, Paul Stoddart, described his race as "53 laps of qualifying".[9]

[edit] 2002–2006: Renault

See also: Renault F1

[edit] 2002–2003

Alonso in 2004
Alonso in 2004

Alonso became test driver for Renault in 2002 (Renault having taken over the Benetton team) and did 1,642 laps of testing that year. In 2003 Briatore dropped Button and put Alonso in the second seat alongside Jarno Trulli.[6]

The Spaniard became the youngest driver to achieve a Formula One pole position at the 2003 Malaysian Grand Prix. Alonso had a 180mph crash at the 2003 Brazilian Grand Prix, the result of missing the double yellow flags and Safety Car boards brought out by Mark Webber's earlier crash and colliding with the debris.[10] The race was red-flagged. He finished second at his home grand prix two races later, and became the youngest driver to win a Formula One race at the 2003 Hungarian Grand Prix. He finished the year sixth in the championship, with 55 points and four podiums.

[edit] 2004

Fernando Alonso driving for the Renault Formula One team at the 2004 United States Grand Prix.
Fernando Alonso driving for the Renault Formula One team at the 2004 United States Grand Prix.

Alonso remained with Renault for the 2004 season. In the early part of 2004 questions were asked of Alonso when he was generally out-qualified by teammate Jarno Trulli. However towards the end of the year Trulli's performance deteriorated and he dropped Renault boss Flavio Briatore as his manager. Trulli's relationship with the team deteriorated to the extent that he signed for Toyota from 2005 onwards. Alonso ended the year fourth in the championship standings, scoring 59 points and four podiums.

[edit] 2005

For the 2005 season, Alonso was joined at Renault by highly rated Italian driver Giancarlo Fisichella. At the first race in Australia Alonso started near the back due to rain in qualifying but fought his way to third. He won the next two races in Malaysia and Bahrain from pole position, and took a third win in the San Marino Grand Prix after a 13-lap battle with Michael Schumacher.

McLaren's improving form saw Räikkönen win in Spain and Monaco while Alonso finished second and fourth, respectively. Räikkönen was on course to win the European Grand Prix at the Nürburgring when his car's front-right suspension failed (due to a flat spot on the tyre caused by Räikkönen 'locking' it while passing Jacques Villeneuve) on the last lap, giving victory to Alonso.

Alonso failed to score in the Canadian and United States Grands Prix. He crashed out of the former, and in the latter all the Michelin runners withdrew due to safety concerns over their tyres.

Alonso took his third pole position and fifth win at the French Grand Prix. He followed this with pole position a week later at the British Grand Prix, where he finished a second behind Montoya. McLaren's poor reliability granted another win to Alonso at the German Grand Prix when Kimi Räikkönen's car suffered hydraulic failure.

He qualified 6th in the Hungarian Grand Prix but finished 11th after a collision with the Toyota of Ralf Schumacher.

As the season entered its final stages Alonso finished second in three consecutive races, collecting vital championship points. Räikkönen won in Turkey and Belgium, but was fourth at Monza after engine trouble in qualifying, meaning Alonso's lead had been reduced by only one point.

Alonso sealed the title by finishing third in Brazil while Montoya won from Räikkönen. The Spaniard became the youngest Drivers' Champion at the age of 24 years and 59 days old, breaking Emerson Fittipaldi's record. He also ended the 5-year dominance of Michael Schumacher.

Commenting on his victory, he said: "I just want to dedicate this championship to my family, and all my close friends who have supported me through my career. Spain is not a country with an F1 culture, and we had to fight alone, every step of the way, to make this happen. A huge thank-you should also go to the team as well — they are the best in Formula One, and we have done this together. It will say that I am world champion, but we are all champions — and they deserve this." In the May 2007 issue of F1 Racing, Alonso said that the 2005 Brazilian Grand Prix was his greatest race. He said, "It was a dream come true and a very emotional day. In the last few laps I leaped, thinking I could hear noises from the engine- from everywhere! But all was okay and I can remember my relief when I crossed the finish line."

The Japanese and Chinese Grands Prix saw Alonso and Renault abandon the conservative style evident in Brazil when he was still chasing the drivers' title. Starting from 16th on the grid, he eventually finished third behind Räikkönen and Fisichella. The Chinese Grand Prix saw Renault and Alonso win to claim the first Constructor’s Championship for the Renault F1 team.

In 2005, he was awarded with the Sports Prince of Asturias Award.[11]

[edit] 2006

Alonso won the 2006 title at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
Alonso won the 2006 title at the Brazilian Grand Prix.

Alonso won the first race of the 2006 Formula One season at Bahrain, overtaking Michael Schumacher after coming out of the pit lane with 18 laps left, after starting fourth. He qualified seventh at the Malaysian Grand Prix due to a fuelling error[12][13] but finished second to team mate Giancarlo Fisichella. He won the Australian Grand Prix after overtaking leader Jenson Button's Honda.

After poor qualifying at San Marino, Alonso was unable to pass Michael Schumacher in an encounter that echoed their battle the previous year. Schumacher beat Alonso again in the European Grand Prix after the Spaniard started on pole. But Alonso hit back, becoming the first Spaniard to win his home race on May 14, 2006 in the Spanish Grand Prix.

He took pole position for the Monaco Grand Prix after Schumacher was penalised by the stewards for "deliberately [stopping] his car on the circuit in the last few minutes of qualifying", denying his rivals, Alonso included, the opportunity of recording fastest qualifying lap.[14] Alonso won the race.

He extended his winning streak to four races with victories in Britain and Canada. Both wins came from pole position, and the British round was his first win, pole and fastest lap treble.

At the Canadian Grand Prix, Alonso took his 6th victory of the year.
At the Canadian Grand Prix, Alonso took his 6th victory of the year.

Schumacher's fight back began at Indianapolis where the German won and Alonso was fifth. Schumacher won the French Grand Prix, with Alonso in second, and the Spaniard was fifth in the German Grand Prix.[15] That cut Alonso's championship lead to 11 points.

Alonso incurred a penalty for an infraction in practice at the Hungarian Grand Prix which left him 15th on the grid.[16] Schumacher started 11th after receiving a similar penalty.[17] Alonso looked set for an unlikely win as he overtook most of the field, including Schumacher around the outside of turn five, as he showed prowess in the wet conditions. But he crashed out of the race when a wheel nut fell off his car following a pit stop. Schumacher scored one point after Robert Kubica was disqualified.[18]

Alonso finished second in Turkey, holding back third-placed Schumacher to claim two vital points. But he lost a lot of ground after a controversial Italian Grand Prix. He suffered a puncture during qualifying that damaged bodywork at the back of his car. He qualified fifth but was later punished[19] by the stewards for impeding Felipe Massa's Ferrari,[20] and he started the race from the 10th position. In the race he rose to third place before an engine failure forced him to withdraw. Schumacher won the Grand Prix and cut Alonso's Championship lead to two points.

At the following round in China, Alonso took pole position during a wet qualifying session but finished second to Schumacher in the race. The result tied Alonso and Schumacher on points in the drivers championship.

At the Japanese Grand Prix, the Ferraris of Schumacher and Massa qualified first and second, more than half a second faster than the Renaults in fifth and sixth. But during the race Alonso rose to second and took the win after Schumacher's engine failed. It gave him a ten point advantage over Schumacher, needing only one point from the final round to retain the title.

Second place in the Brazilian Grand Prix on October 22 gave Alonso the championship. With Schumacher finishing fourth, the final difference was 13 points. Alonso thus became the youngest double champion in the sport's history. Renault also clinched the Constructors' Championship with a 5-point gap over Ferrari.

[edit] 2007: McLaren

See also: McLaren
Alonso at the 2007 Malaysian Grand Prix, his first victory for McLaren.
Alonso at the 2007 Malaysian Grand Prix, his first victory for McLaren.
Alonso finished second in the 2007 British Grand Prix.
Alonso finished second in the 2007 British Grand Prix.

On December 19, 2005, Fernando Alonso announced that he would be moving to McLaren for 2007.[21] His contract with Renault was set to expire on December 31, 2006 However, on December 15, 2006, Alonso was allowed by Flavio Briatore and the Renault F1 Team to test for one day for McLaren in the Jerez circuit, as a result of his successes with Renault. Driving an unbranded MP4-21 and wearing a plain white helmet and overalls, Alonso completed 95 laps.[22] Lewis Hamilton was chosen as his partner for the season. McLaren were reported to be paying Alonso £ 20 million (approx $ 39 million c. 2007) in 2007. Alonso debuted with the new McLaren car on January 15, 2007, in the streets of Valencia.

On 8 April 2007 in his second race for the team, Fernando secured his first win for McLaren, and the team's first since 2005 with a commanding drive at Sepang. A difficult drive at Bahrain's Sakhir circuit on 15 April, saw him finishing 5th behind his rookie team mate who took a podium finish. In the fourth race of the year in Spain, his home grand prix, he qualified second. He had a first lap collision with Felipe Massa which caused some damage to his car and dropped him to fourth. He finished the race third. On May 27, Fernando secured his second victory for McLaren at Monaco, scoring pole position, fastest lap and the race win and in the process lapping the entire field up to 3rd position. At the Nürburgring he took his third win of the year in a dramatic race affected by intermittent rain showers, overtaking Ferrari's Felipe Massa for the lead with just four laps remaining. After the controversy at the 2007 Hungarian Grand Prix (see below), however, relations between Alonso and his team declined. It was reported in the media that he was no longer on speaking terms with Hamilton,[23] and it was speculated that he may leave McLaren at the end of the season.[24] On 7 August 2007 The Times reported that McLaren would let Alonso leave the team at the end of the season if he wished, two years earlier than his contract allowed.[25].

As part of the espionage controversy between McLaren and Ferrari, the former were found guilty of breaching the Article 151c of the FIA's sporting regulations but went unpunished due to a lack of evidence. However, following the acquisition of new evidence by the FIA, a new hearing was held on September 13. The new evidence consisted largely of email traffic between Alonso and test driver Pedro de la Rosa.[26] The FIA's World Motor Sport Council report following the hearing stated that Alonso and de la Rosa had obtained and used confidential Ferrari technical data and sporting strategy information from senior McLaren engineer Mike Coughlan via Ferrari employee Nigel Stepney, including during test sessions. Both drivers were spared sanctions in exchange for providing evidence.

On 2 November 2007, after a turbulent year with McLaren, it was announced that McLaren and Alonso had mutually agreed to terminate his contract and that he would be free to join any team for 2008 without paying McLaren any compensation.[27]

[edit] 2008: Return to Renault

Alonso testing for Renault in January 2008.
Alonso testing for Renault in January 2008.

Alonso was linked with several teams for the 2008 season after his split with McLaren. Renault, Red Bull, Toyota and Honda were all suggested in the media. Renault's Flavio Briatore stated that he would welcome Alonso's return to the French team. On 10 December 2007, the Telegraph online news service reported that, according to "a newspaper report in Spain" Fernando Alonso had signed a two-year contract to drive for Renault F1 along side Brazilian driver Nelson Angelo Piquet for around £25 million.[28][29]

However, after the first two rounds of the 2008 Season, Fernando was not enjoying life at the top as he is used to. He has come 4th and 8th in Australia and Malaysia respectively. There have been rumours that he could replace Felipe Massa at Ferrari in 2009, especially in light of the general belief that there is an "out clause" in Fernando Alonso's contract with Renault which would give him the freedom to move to another team for the next season should he be able to secure a deal. However Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo has stated that Massa's seat in the team is secured and will stay that way until the end of his contract in 2010.[citation needed]

On 6 April 2008, in the 2008 Bahrain Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton ran into the back of Alonso's Renault, heavily damaging the rear wing of the Spaniard's car, as well as his own nosecone. Stewards did not seek to investigate the incident but critics alleged he braked (or didn't accelerate as expected) in front of Lewis Hamilton causing Hamilton to crash into him [30]. Since then telemetric data from Alonso's car have proven these accusations wrong [31]. Hamilton himself stated "I was behind him, and I moved to the right, and he moved to the right and that was it - a racing incident I guess"[32]. It was later revealed by McLaren that Hamilton's front wing, which was damaged when he hit Alonso ealier in the race, had broken seconds before the impact and has been identified as the cause of the crash. Alonso started the 2008 Spanish Grand Prix with promising pace, qualifying on the front row in second place behind Kimi Räikkönen. Alonso was running in a solid fifth place when the Renault engine blew up with 31 laps to go in the 66 lap race.

The 2008 Monaco Grand Prix was a spectaluar one. In qualifying Alonso managed to secure 7th position on the grid, in dry weather conditions. Race Day began with Intermediate tyres due to early showers, and Alonso mangaged to get into 4th place after the first corner. Then Nico Rosberg, braked late around the hairpin chicane touching Alonso but no damage done. Few laps later, Alonso kissed the barrier deflating the rear right tyre but managed to get out of pits in 7th position. A good overtaking move on Mark Webber, earned him 6th place, but this time around the hairpin, Alonso made an ambitious overtaking move causing Nick Heidfeld to go over his front wing , ruining all chances. Alonso went on to finish in 10th place behind Kimi Räikkönen.

[edit] Records and achievements

  • Youngest World Champion: 24 years, 59 days in 2005
  • Youngest double World Champion: 25 years, 85 days in 2006
  • Youngest driver to start from pole position: 21 years, 237 days at the 2003 Malaysian Grand Prix
  • Youngest driver to score a podium finish: 21 years, 237 days at the 2003 Malaysian Grand Prix
  • Youngest winner: 22 years, 26 days at the 2003 Hungarian Grand Prix
  • Second youngest driver to start from the front row of the grid: 21 years, 237 days at the 2003 Malaysian Grand Prix (behind Ricardo Rodríguez: 19 years, 208 days)
  • Second youngest driver to set fastest lap: 21 years, 321 days at the 2003 Canadian Grand Prix (behind Nico Rosberg: 20 years, 258 days)
  • Second driver (after Michael Schumacher) to score 100 or more points for three consecutive seasons (in 2005, 2006 and 2007)
  • Second highest number of podium positions in a season: 15 in 2005 (behind Michael Schumacher: 17 in 2002)
  • Second highest number of consecutive podium positions: 15 in 2005-2006 (behind Michael Schumacher: 19 in 2001-2002)
  • Third highest points total in one season: 134 in 2006 (behind Michael Schumacher: 148 in 2004 and 144 in 2002)
  • Third youngest to start a race at 19 years, 218 days at the 2001 Australian Grand Prix (behind Mike Thackwell: 19 years, 182 days and Ricardo Rodríguez: 19 years, 208 days)
  • Highest paid racer for his record breaking signing with the depleted Renault team for 2008-2009

[edit] Controversies

  • At the 2003 European Grand Prix, David Coulthard and McLaren managing director Martin Whitmarsh accused Alonso of giving Coulthard a brake test.[33]
  • At the 2006 Hungarian Grand Prix, Alonso was involved in an incident in which he brake tested Red Bull Racing test driver Robert Doornbos in the second free practice session. The Stewards decided that Alonso’s actions were “unnecessary, unacceptable and dangerous”, and awarded him a one second time penalty to be applied to his fastest lap time in each of the qualifying sessions.[16]
  • After a separate incident from the same race, when Michael Schumacher was asked whether he thought Alonso slowed down on purpose so that Schumacher had to pass him under red flags in practice Schumacher replied, "You said that, I didn't."[34]
  • In the 2006 Italian Grand Prix, after stewards ruled Alonso had potentially blocked Felipe Massa in Saturday qualifying and relegated him five places on the starting grid, Alonso stated "I love the sport, love the fans coming here — a lot of them from Spain but I don't consider Formula One like a sport any more".[19]
  • During the aftermath of the 2007 European Grand Prix Alonso accused Felipe Massa of trying to hit him off the track when he passed him around the outside of turn 5 in the wet. The two had a row in front of the cameras immediately before the podium proceedings. [1] Alonso and Massa later apologised.
  • In the qualifying for the 2007 Hungarian Grand Prix, while both McLarens were in the pits, Alonso remained stationary in the McLaren pit for a fews seconds. This delayed the then provisional pole sitter (and his team mate), Lewis Hamilton long enough to prevent him from getting another 'hot lap' in. Alonso then went on to claim pole.[35] McLaren boss Ron Dennis later said the team had got "out of sequence" when Hamilton did not as agreed allow Alonso past earlier in the qualifying session. He added that Alonso was "under the control of his engineer" when he was waiting in the pit lane.[36] However, Alonso was subsequently given a five-place grid penalty[37] and his McLaren team were docked the 15 constructors' World Championship points they would have earned in the race.[38]
  • As result of this investigation, it emerged that some people within McLaren, among them Alonso, were aware of confidential information belonging to the Ferrari team. This information was commented on to Alonso by McLaren test driver Pedro de la Rosa who had also received information from McLaren chief designer Mike Coughlan. The email contained text suggesting that Alonso was surprised by the data and doubted its authenticity. According to the "spygate" related email exchanges between Alonso and de la Rosa, it was clear that Alonso knew about Ferrari's pit strategies in the Australian Grand Prix and Bahrain Grand Prix. Alonso finished 2nd and 5th respectively in those races.[39] Ron Dennis told FIA about the case during the Hungaroring GP after alleging that Alonso threatened him to report the team to FIA himself if he wasn't given number one status within the McLaren team, while Alonso declared that false and asked FIA to show evidence of his innocence; FIA then revealed that it had had knowledge of the case thanks to a slip made by Coughlan. [40]

[edit] Racing record

[edit] Career summary

Season Series Team Name Races Poles Wins Points Final Placing
1999 Euro Open by Nissan Campos Motorsport 15 9 6 164 1st
2000 International Formula 3000 Team Astromega 9 1 1 17 4th
2001 Formula One Minardi 17 0 0 0 23rd
2002 Formula One Renault Test driver
2003 Formula One Renault 16 2 1 55 6th
2004 Formula One Renault 18 1 0 59 4th
2005 Formula One Renault 19 6 7 133 1st
2006 Formula One Renault 18 6 7 134 1st
2007 Formula One McLaren 17 2 4 109 3rd
2008 Formula One Renault 7 0 0 9 8th*
* Season in Progress

[edit] Complete Formula One results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Entrant Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 WDC Points
2001 European Minardi F1 Team Minardi PS01 European (Cosworth) 3.0 V10 AUS
12
MAL
13
BRA
Ret
SMR
Ret
ESP
13
AUT
Ret
MON
Ret
CAN
Ret
EUR
14
FRA
17
GBR
16
GER
10
HUN
Ret
BEL
Ret
ITA
13
USA
Ret
JPN
11
23rd 0
2003 Mild Seven Renault F1 Team Renault R23 Renault RS23 3.0 V10 AUS
7
MAL
3
BRA
3
SMR
6
ESP
2
AUT
Ret
MON
5
CAN
4
EUR
4
FRA
Ret
GBR
Ret
GER
4
HUN
1
ITA
8
USA
Ret
JPN
Ret
6th 55
2004 Mild Seven Renault F1 Team Renault R24 Renault RS24 3.0 V10 AUS
3
MAL
7
BHR
6
SMR
4
ESP
4
MON
Ret
EUR
5
CAN
Ret
USA
Ret
FRA
2
GBR
10
GER
3
HUN
3
BEL
Ret
ITA
Ret
CHN
4
JPN
5
BRA
4
4th 59
2005 Mild Seven Renault F1 Team Renault R25 Renault RS25 3.0 V10 AUS
3
MAL
1
BHR
1
SMR
1
ESP
2
MON
4
EUR
1
CAN
Ret
USA
DNS
FRA
1
GBR
2
GER
1
HUN
11
TUR
2
ITA
2
BEL
2
BRA
3
JPN
3
CHN
1
1st 133
2006 Mild Seven Renault F1 Team Renault R26 Renault RS26 2.4 V8 BHR
1
MAL
2
AUS
1
SMR
2
EUR
2
ESP
1
MON
1
GBR
1
CAN
1
USA
5
FRA
2
GER
5
HUN
Ret
TUR
2
ITA
Ret
CHN
2
JPN
1
BRA
2
1st 134
2007 Vodafone McLaren Mercedes McLaren MP4-22 Mercedes FO 108T 2.4 V8 AUS
2
MAL
1
BHR
5
ESP
3
MON
1
CAN
7
USA
2
FRA
7
GBR
2
EUR
1
HUN
4
TUR
3
ITA
1
BEL
3
JPN
Ret
CHN
2
BRA
3
3rd 109
2008 ING Renault F1 Team Renault R28 Renault RS27 2.4 V8 AUS
4
MAL
8
BHR
10
ESP
Ret
TUR
6
MON
10
CAN
Ret
FRA
GBR
GER
HUN
EUR
BEL
ITA
SIN
JPN
CHN
BRA
8th* 9*

* Season in progress

[edit] See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:
Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:

[edit] References

  1. ^ La Nueva España :: Galería. La Nueva España (2006). Retrieved on 2007-01-17.
  2. ^ a b Urruty, Martín. "De plebeyo a rey. Cómo llegó Alonso a ser el campeón más joven de la historia", ESPNdeportes, 2005-11-26. Retrieved on 2007-07-30. (Spanish) 
  3. ^ 2007 FIA Gala Awards Gallery. The Official Formula 1 Website. Retrieved on 2007-12-16.
  4. ^ "The girls in pole position", Mail on Sunday, Associated Newspapers, 2007-02-25, p. 34. Retrieved on 2007-04-08. 
  5. ^ Fernando Alonso. f1db.com. Retrieved on 2007-09-13.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h Who's Who: Fernando Alonso. F1Fanatic.co.uk (2006). Retrieved on 2006-01-07.
  7. ^ "Sauber chasing Alonso", GrandPrix.com, 2001-09-11. Retrieved on 2007-06-05. 
  8. ^ "Sauber confirms Massa", GrandPrix.com, 2001-10-12. Retrieved on 2007-06-05. 
  9. ^ Cooper, Steve (September 2007). "The hunter becomes the haunted". Autosport 189 (10): p.39. 
  10. ^ "Fernando Alonso in for a ticking off", grandprix.com, 2003-04-16. Retrieved on 2007-09-13. 
  11. ^ Fernando Alonso. The Price of Asturias Foundation (2005). Retrieved on 2007-01-17.
  12. ^ Qualifying — selected driver quotes. The Official Formula 1 Website (2006-03-18). Retrieved on 2007-01-22.
  13. ^ Malaysian Grand Prix — selected driver quotes. The Official Formula 1 Website (2006-03-19). Retrieved on 2007-01-22.
  14. ^ Schumacher is stripped of pole. The Official Formula 1 Website (2006). Retrieved on 2007-01-17.
  15. ^ Renault on the ropes after Hockenheim?. The Official Formula 1 Website (2006-07-30). Retrieved on 2007-01-22.
  16. ^ a b "Alonso receives qualifying penalties", The Official Formula 1 Website, 2006-08-04. Retrieved on 2007-01-16. 
  17. ^ Räikkonen steals pole in Hungary. The Official Formula 1 Website (2006). Retrieved on 2007-01-17.
  18. ^ Hungarian Grand Prix 2006 review. F1Fanatic.co.uk (2006-08-06). Retrieved on 2007-08-15.
  19. ^ a b "Fuming Alonso says F1 is no longer a sport", F1racing.net, 2006-09-10. Retrieved on 2007-01-16. 
  20. ^ Alonso punished for blocking Massa. The Official Formula 1 Website (2006). Retrieved on 2007-01-17.
  21. ^ Alonso in shock move to McLaren. The Official Formula 1 Website (2005). Retrieved on 2007-01-17.
  22. ^ Jerez day four — Hamilton on form in Spain. The Official Formula 1 Website (2006). Retrieved on 2007-01-17.
  23. ^ "Hungarian GP — Alonso not speaking to Hamilton", uk.eurosport.yahoo.com, 2007-08-06. Retrieved on 2007-08-06. 
  24. ^ "Alonso's future at McLaren in doubt", autosport.com, 2007-08-06. Retrieved on 2007-08-06. 
  25. ^ Gorman, Edward. "McLaren may lose Alonso if he cannot work with Hamilton", The Times, Times Newspapers, 2007-08-07. Retrieved on 2007-08-07. 
  26. ^ "Letter confirms drivers had new evidence", autosport.com, 2007-09-07. Retrieved on 2007-09-07. 
  27. ^ "Alonso Press Release", Vodafone McLaren Mercedes, 2007-11-02. Retrieved on 2007-11-02. 
  28. ^ Fernando Alonso to re-sign for Renault www.telegraph.co.uk Retrieved 10 December 2007
  29. ^ Renault confirms 2008 driver line-up Alonso and Piquet http://f1.gpupdate.net/en/ Retrieved 10 December 2007
  30. ^ Massa wins as Ferrari dominates in desert. ITV (2008-04-06). Retrieved on 2008-04-06.
  31. ^ Renault rubbish 'brake test' suggestions. Autosport (2008-04-06). Retrieved on 2008-04-06.
  32. ^ Bahrain Grand Prix - selected driver quotes. Formula1.com (2008-04-06). Retrieved on 2008-04-06.
  33. ^ "Coulthard blames Alonso", BBC Sport, 2003-06-29. Retrieved on 2007-01-16. 
  34. ^ "Schumi hints at foul play", F1racing.net, 2006-08-05. Retrieved on 2007-01-16. 
  35. ^ "Hungarian Grand Prix 2007 — Qualifying", news.bbc.co.uk, 2007-08-05. Retrieved on 2007-08-06. 
  36. ^ "Dennis: Hamilton triggered incident", autosport.com, 2007-08-04. Retrieved on 2007-08-06. 
  37. ^ "Alonso demoted to sixth in Hungary", autosport.com, 2007-08-04. Retrieved on 2007-08-04. 
  38. ^ Alonso punished for Hamilton move. British Broadcasting Corp. (2007-08-04). Retrieved on 2007-08-04.
  39. ^ Dennis tipped off FIA about evidence, 2007-09-14, <http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/62376>. Retrieved on 20 September 2007 
  40. ^ Elizalde, Pablo (2007-09-19), Transcript highlights Dennis/Alonso row, <http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/62548>. Retrieved on 20 September 2007 

[edit] External links

Sporting positions
Preceded by
Marc Gené
Euro Open Movistar by Nissan Champion
1999
Succeeded by
Antonio García
Preceded by
Michael Schumacher
Formula One World Champion
2005-2006
Succeeded by
Kimi Räikkönen
Awards
Preceded by
Hicham El Guerrouj
Prince of Asturias Award (Sports)
2005
Succeeded by
Spain national basketball team
Preceded by
Kimi Räikkönen
Lorenzo Bandini Trophy
2005
Succeeded by
Mark Webber
Records
Preceded by
Rubens Barrichello
22 years, 97 days
(1994 Belgian GP)
Youngest Grand Prix Pole Position
Winner

21 years, 237 days
(2003 Malaysian Grand Prix)
Succeeded by
Incumbent
Preceded by
Jimmy Davies
21 years, 285 days
(1951 Indianapolis 500)
Youngest Race Leader,
For at least one lap in Formula One

21 years, 237 days
(2003 Malaysian Grand Prix)
Succeeded by
Sebastian Vettel
20 years, 89 days
(2007 Japanese GP)
Preceded by
Ralf Schumacher
21 years, 287 days
(1997 Argentine GP)
Youngest Driver to score a
Podium Position in Formula One

21 years, 237 days
(2003 Malaysian Grand Prix)
Succeeded by
Incumbent
Preceded by
Bruce McLaren
21 years, 322 days
(1959 British GP)
Youngest driver to set
Fastest Lap in Formula One

21 years, 321 days
(2003 Canadian Grand Prix)
Succeeded by
Nico Rosberg
20 years, 258 days
(2006 Bahrain GP)
Preceded by
Troy Ruttman
22 years, 80 days
(1952 Indianapolis 500)
Youngest Grand Prix Race
Winner

22 years, 26 days
(2003 Hungarian Grand Prix)
Succeeded by
Incumbent
Preceded by
Emerson Fittipaldi
25 years, 273 days
(1972 season)
Youngest Formula One
World Drivers' Champion

24 years, 58 days
(2005 season)
Succeeded by
Incumbent