Attempting to whittle down over 300 Grands Prix into just 10 for a driver of Fernando Alonso’s calibre is a nigh-on impossible task, and consequently the Motorsport Week team opted to expand it to 14 – reflecting Alonso’s personal car number.
Therefore, here are our top 14 moments from Alonso’s prestigious career in Formula 1.
Japan, 2001
The teenaged Alonso made a huge impression during his rookie campaign with a revived Minardi squad whose mere participation in the championship bordered on the miraculous. The PS01 was an underpowered and lacklustre car, but Alonso extracted the maximum from its minimal potential. There were some standout performances but none more so than at the Suzuka finale, where he out-qualified both Arrows and a Prost and went on to race to a scarcely believable 11th (out of 16 finishers). In-awe team boss Paul Stoddart referred to Alonso’s race as “53 qualifying laps”.
Hungary, 2003
Under the guidance of Flavio Briatore, tasked with rejuvenating Renault’s fortunes, Alonso stepped back from a race role and spent 2002 racking up test miles, before returning to the grid for 2003. Renault’s R23 was a contender towards the front of the pack and, having grabbed his maiden pole and podium in Malaysia, Alonso annihilated the opposition in Hungary. From pole position he waltzed away from the field, lapped Michael Schumacher, and finished 16 seconds clear of nearest rival Kimi Raikkonen.
San Marino, 2005
Alonso quickly established himself as the title favourite with back-to-back wins in Malaysia and Bahrain, but his third win on the bounce was achieved courtesy of a defensive masterclass. Alonso picked up the pieces when early leader Raikkonen retired (a not-so-rare theme in 2005) and preserved his position through the final 13 laps amid sustained pressure from the rapidly recovering Schumacher. For lap after lap the pair circulated close together but Alonso maintained his composure and perfectly placed his R25 to prevent the reigning champion from passing.
Brazil, 2005
Alonso’s race performance was far from memorable – a measured drive to third spot – but it was the permutation that led to an unforgettable image. Alonso’s podium ensured he ended Schumacher’s five-year spell as champion, and the unbridled emotions the Spaniard displayed as he yelled “TOMA!” (come on!) is one of F1’s most iconic moments. Few titles have been celebrated with such near-animalistic joy as he realised that he had fulfilled his dream, aged just 24. At the following event in Japan his manoeuvre around Schumacher at Suzuka’s fabled 130R corner was stunning in its execution, and staggering in its audacity.
Hungary, 2006
Alonso’s title lead was under increased threat from Schumacher mid-season and in practice a misguided decision to brake check Minardi’s Robert Doornbos left the Spaniard with a 10-place grid penalty, relegating him down the order. For the first time in history rain affected the race at the Hungaroring and Alonso thrived in such conditions, carving his way through the order in the early laps, including a sumptuous move around the outside of Schumacher at Turn 5. Raikkonen’s clash with the lapped Vitantonio Liuzzi played into Alonso’s hands and the Renault driver opened a commanding lead – only to lose it all when a loose wheel nut after his stop sent his R26 into the barriers.
Monaco, 2007
Alonso, victorious in Monaco during his title-winning year with Renault, moved to McLaren for 2007, though by early summer the cracks were already beginning to appear in the relationship. Alonso beat rookie team-mate Lewis Hamilton to pole position and controlled the race as McLaren finished comfortably clear of nearest rival Ferrari, with all bar Felipe Massa lapped. It was a display and dominance that riled Hamilton, who was told in no uncertain terms to accept second best and complete a 1-2 for McLaren.
Europe, 2007
A wretched run of rounds after Monaco left Alonso on the back foot but at the Nurburgring he triumphed after a thrilling topsy-turvy race interrupted by showers. Alonso tailed Massa but rain during the closing stages drew the Spaniard back into contention, and he went around the outside of the Ferrari drive through the narrow left-hander at Turn 5, the pair banging wheels as they duelled for the lead. Alonso won, and smirked when an irate Massa suggested post-race that he had been overly aggressive.
Japan, 2008
Somewhat poignantly just one race after Alonso’s Renault-orchestrated Singapore win, a chance to triumph arose on merit. Alonso qualified fourth at Fuji and moved up to second, behind Robert Kubica, in the wake of a messy first lap that skewered the Ferrari and McLaren drivers, triggered by Lewis Hamilton’s Turn 1 error. Alonso overcut Kubica at the first round of stops to grasp the lead, at which he called the strategy from the cockpit, electing to run a shorter second stint, ensuring he remained ahead throughout. It was to be the last triumph for the Renault team.
Italy, 2010
Alonso had already savoured success on his Ferrari debut in Bahrain, aided by Sebastian Vettel’s engine issue, and his German victory was somewhat tainted by team orders. On Ferrari’s home ground, the win was fully deserved. Alonso claimed pole but Jenson Button used his audacious strategy of running an unusually large rear wing on his McLaren to grab the lead, and each lap perfected his exit from Parabolica to ensure he kept Alonso, and his faster-in-a-straight-line F10, out of reach. Ferrari had the luxury of reacting to McLaren/Button and when the Briton stopped, Alonso stayed out, putting in one of the in-laps of his life. Alonso emerged in front when he too stopped, and the win was his.
Singapore, 2010
Alonso and title rival Sebastian Vettel elevated themselves to a different level at Marina Bay in 2010, as the Ferrari driver followed up his Monza victory with a defensive display in Singapore. Alonso edged Vettel to pole position by just 0.067s and they duelled for much of the 61-lap epic beneath the city’s floodlights. Alonso and Vettel swept across the line separated by just 0.293s after almost two hours of racing in what was one of the closest finishes in Formula 1 history, an example of a breath-taking encounter without the need for multiple overtakes.
Europe, 2012
In a closely-contested season Ferrari found itself knocked out of Q2 at the Valencia Street Circuit, dealing Alonso’s unlikely title challenge a substantial blow on home ground. And yet, as so frequently, he came alive in race trim and avoided the trouble that befell his opponents. Alternator failures halted the dominant Vettel and expected challenger Romain Grosjean, Hamilton was hurt by strategy and Pastor Maldonado, while the plucky Alonso worked his way forward from 11th to capture the most unlikely of wins in a season where he was utterly outstanding. Valencia saluted its hero, who stopped on the cool-down lap to savour the success.
Spain, 2013
Several of Alonso’s 32 victories are memorable but surely his most recent – and probably last – is up there among the best. Pirelli’s highly-degrading tyres flummoxed most of the front-runners at various stages of the campaign, so Ferrari adopted an ultra-aggressive approach for Alonso’s home round at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. Aided by an incredible first lap, in which Alonso made gains with a superb two-on-one move around Turn 3, Ferrari four-stopped Alonso to the front of the field. An emotional Alonso wildly celebrated his home success – though, sadly, his last.
Hungary, 2014
Ferrari’s fortunes plummeted upon the introduction of hybrid power units and it proved to be the straw that broke the camel’s back, with Alonso realising that the team was years away from title contention (a belief that has transpired to be true). There were typically feisty performances but none more so than in Hungary, where he profited from wet/dry conditions to fight for victory, holding the lead until Daniel Ricciardo – equipped with fresher and softer tyres – cruised past with four laps to go. Alonso held second – his final podium.
Spain, 2017
It would be remiss not to include one moment from the dreadful McLaren-Honda years. There was the sorry sight of Alonso pushing his car back to the Hungaroring pit lane in 2015, his ferocious aerial accident in Australia a year later, and countless other performances that yielded little-to-no reward. One of those was surely his qualifying lap on home soil in Spain in 2017. The McLaren MCL32 had little right being in Q2, let alone Q3, in which Alonso was seventh, behind only Formula 1’s ‘big three’. McLaren, and most of the paddock, was shocked. That he was shuffled wide on the opening lap, and came home just 12th, was almost irrelevant.
