Ever since his arrival in F1 in 2001, Fernando Alonso showed the early signs of what was to come. When he finally got the car to match his potential in 2005, the Spaniard caused one of the biggest upsets the sport has ever seen. Alonso ended Michael Schumacher’s dominant championship-winning run. That wasn’t it, though. His maiden championship win made him the youngest champion of the time, replacing Emerson Fittipaldi.
The next year was the icing on the cake as young Fernando successfully defended his title with just as many race wins as the year before. Since then, he has never lifted the championship trophy again. This year, Aston Martin has made leaps of progress to land him on the podium again. But is it enough to see him take the top spot on the podium once again?
Fernando Alonso’s Formula 1 wins
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Alonso’s first race win came during the 2003 Hungarian GP. That win again came with Renault, the team he won his back-to-back championships later. He did not win any race other race that year, nor did he win any for another year. But 2005 was a year of redemption and boy was it sweet for the boy from Oviedo.
Fernando won 7 races each in both of his championship-winning campaigns, with 4 of those coming from pole positions each time. The next year, he made a switch to McLaren, and the gamble almost paid off. He landed 2 pole positions during the course of the season but managed 4 race wins. However, a rift with rookie teammate Lewis Hamilton saw them both finish on the same points, missing out on the world championship by just one point behind Kimi Raikkonen.
Upset with his treatment there, he left for Renault, but that decision turned out to be an even bigger disaster. That abysmal run saw him make the switch to Ferrari, a move that saw him compete for the championship once again. Alonso came second best on three occasions during his stint at the Prancing Horse. Those 4 years saw him accumulate 11 more race wins and took his tally to a total of 32 wins that stands as is to this day.
When did Fernando Alonso last win an F1 race?
There is one thing Alonso has gained a poor reputation for in F1. That is his habit of jumping ship too often without giving the incumbent team enough time to build a system around his liking. Despite coming ever so close to winning the championship thrice in his 5 years with Ferrari, he went back to McLaren in 2015. Some say he had little choice in the decision as the man replacing him was the 4 back-to-back championship-winning driver Sebastian Vettel.
Sadly, his win in the 2013 Spanish GP, to this day, remains the last race he won. Going winless year after year with McLaren took a toll on him. Why wouldn’t it, after all? Athletes with a champion mentality develop a habit of winning, and if those wins disappear, there is only so much one can take. Resultantly, Alonso announced his retirement from F1 after the end of the 2018 season.
Fernando Alonso’s return to F1
While the dearth of wins was frustrating, missing the thrill of F1 was a lot more to take. It got to a level that winning the 24 hours of Le Mans twice in two years and participating in many other events like the Indianapolis 500 just wasn’t enough for the speed junkie.
After a 2 year hiatus, Fernando Alonso came back from retirement to once again take to the F1 tracks. The team he chose? His back-to-back championship-winning team, Renault. The last time he stood on the podium was back in 2014 when he finished 2nd at the Hungarian GP. He broke that podium-less streak in his comeback year in 2021 by finishing 3rd at the inaugural Qatar GP.
As quoted by AS.com, back then he said, “Finally. We were very close on a few occasions and I was just wondering if I will get one podium again in my career, or not.”
“You never know what is going to happen next year. I’m happy that we took this one and let’s see if we can keep the momentum for next year.”
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How many times has Fernando Alonso won the Saudi Arabian GP?
After taking the podium in Qatar in 2021, Alonso told that he wasn’t sure if he would ever stand on the podium again in his F1 career. Little did he know his move to Aston Martin in 2023 will give birth to a new him. After securing the P3 position twice in as many races until now in 2023, it looks like Alonso is once again back in his groove.
The Saudi Arabian GP joined the F1 calendar in 2021. Sadly, Alonso did not have a worthy enough car to get him a podium finish on either of the two occasions before the 2023 edition. In fact, a series of mechanical failures saw him retire from the 2022 edition.
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Do you think Fernando can build on that 32 race wins tally this year with Aston Martin?