Fernando Alonso

Born in Oviedo, Spain, Alonso first attracted attention in karting when he became junior world champion in 1996. He then raced through the Formula Ford, Renault and 3 junior racing series and won the Spanish Formula Nissan title at his first attempt. His guest appearance in the FIA 3000 series in 2000 and his Formula 1 debut a year later with the Scuderia Minardi remain inconspicuous. in 2002, he joined Renault as a test driver and was given a regular place alongside Jarno Trulli for the 2003 season. On 24 August, at the age of 22, he became the youngest Formula 1 winner of all time at the Hungaroring.

While Alonso finished the 2004 season in fourth place in the drivers' World Championship without a win, he clearly triumphed in 2005 and 2006 and won the World Championship title twice in a row. The fact that the Spaniard announced his impending move to McLaren-Mercedes for the 2007 season as early as December 2005 caused irritation, but did not damage his chances of winning the championship. However, four victories in his first year with the new team only put him in third place in the drivers' standings. Alonso's team-mate at McLaren-Mercedes, the up-and-coming Briton Lewis Hamilton, secured second place.

Alonso was highly dissatisfied with this situation and as a consequence left the racing team after only one year. He first returned to Renault, then drove for Ferrari for five years, with whom he was runner-up in 2010, 2012 and 2013. in 2015, he moved to McLaren, where he stayed for four years. After two years in the IndyCar Series, he competed again for Renault in 2021 and 2022, who now operate as the Alpine team. He moved to Aston Martin for the 2023 season.