After announcing his departure from the world of Formula One this summer, Fernando Alonso has opted out of the F1 Paddock to race in other series such as the Indianapolis 500. However, the Spaniard will remain part of the McLaren family as a test driver and technical adviser. He is due to test the MCL34 in the Montmelo Pre-Season test.
Fernando Alonso's career in Formula One was a checkered one. He began as a fresh faced 20-year-old in 2001, where he debuted in the Minardi team and finished a best of 10th place in Germany. However, much like Esteban Ocon this season, he was dropped for the following season. But Alonso did secure himself a role as the test drive for Renault in 2002. He also secured a one-off test drive with Jaguar, which later turned into Red Bull Racing!
Following his break from the grid, 2003 was a much more successful year for Alonso who was then racing in the iconic blue and yellow colours of the Renault. Fernando was labelled as "the next Schumacher" after becoming the then youngest ever pole sitter in Malaysia, Alonso also managed pole and the win in Hungary, whilst also lapping Michael Schumacher in the process! Alonso finished 6th overall in the drivers standings in only his second year on the F1 grid!
2004 saw Alonso dominating his teammate, Jarno Trulli, leading to a fourth place finish overall. However, the Renault was lacking in power, ultimately leading to a strong but disappointing season. He did manage to secure pole and four podiums throughout the season.
From 2004 to 2005 Renault stepped up their game allowing Fernando to become the youngest ever World Champion at just 24 years old! He secured 7 victories and a further 8 podium positions and was crowned World Champion with two races to spare. Fernando continued with Renault for a further year where he ultimately defended his title and became a two time World Champion after fighting off Michael Schumacher in a fierce Ferrari.
By 2007, Alonso had switched teams from Renault to McLaren where he partnered the then rookie, Lewis Hamilton, both finished with the same amount of points and only one point behind World Champion, Kimi Raikkonen! However, after the shenanigans of the Ferrari "spy scandal" in which Alonso threatened to report his own team to the FIA, the relationship between Fernando and McLaren deteriorated significantly. As such, Alonso opted back to Renault for the 2008 season.
Unfortunately, the Renault wasn't as powerful as Alonso would've hoped. To add salt to the already open wound, Lewis Hamilton and Alonso's old team, McLaren, went on to win both the Constructors and Drivers title! Although Alonso won two races and one other podium position, he still went on to sign for an extra two seasons at Renault.
2009 was less eventful with a much less competitive car, Fernando only scraped a podium once in Singapore for 3rd place. He finished the overall season in 9th. After such a mediocre season Alonso left the team, despite having a contract for 2010, to go to Ferrari.
Fernando's career at Ferrari began with 5 wins and a further 5 podiums throughout the 2010 season. He was in the championship battle with Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber right up until the final race in Abu Dhabi, where poor pitstop strategy resulted in Alonso missing out on what would have been his third championship title. 2011 was also a frustrating year for Alonso, being so close to the front yet still being so far away. Ultimately he missed out on third overall by a single point to Red Bull's Mark Webber. 2012 saw an even closer battle, only missing out on the World Championship by 3 points to a resurgent Sebastian Vettel. Alonso scored 3 wins and a further 10 podiums! Whilst 2013 was filled with an inconsistent Ferrari, Alonso came out a clear but distant second to Vettel with 2 wins and 7 podiums. 2014 was the end of Fernando in the iconic red coloured overalls, with the first winless season for Ferrari since 1993, he finished 6th with a measly 2 podium appearances.
Alonso left Ferrari in 2014 to race for McLaren for the following season. However this move coincided with the revived McLaren Honda partnership, which unfortunately resulted in a slow and unreliable MP4-30 car leading to Fernando scoring a mere 11 points!
2016 started with a huge crash at the season opener in Melbourne leading to Fernando sitting out of round two, Bahrain and replaced by Stoffel Vandoorne. Although the McLaren still hadn't made the improvement that was expected, however, Alonso did manage some feisty drives and even made it to 5th place on two occasions in both Monaco and Austin, Texas. Fernando finished with 54 points, nearly double his teammates, Jenson Button.
2017 saw the final tough season of the McLaren Honda partnership. Alonso did however leave mid season to take part in the Indy 500 which ironically ended yet again due to a Honda engine failure!
The promise of a faster car lured Alonso to sign on for an extra season however, the improvement wasn't as large as expected and only led to an 11th place finish overall in the championship standings.
Fernando did however achieve one of the most prestigious motorsport victories, the 24 Hours of Le Mans in the number 8 Toyota, the teams first ever victory! Alonso achieved such a feat alongside his teammates: Sebastian Buemi and Kazuki Nakajima. Bringing him a step closer to the Triple Crown.
After two World Championships, 1899 points, 22 poles, 97 podiums, 32 wins and 18 years in Formula One, Fernando Alonso announced his retirement from the sport to race in Indy 500 and secure the triple crown.
However, the iconic Spaniard recently announced that he will remain part of the McLaren family as a test driver and technical adviser. So we may not have seen the last of Alonso around the F1 Paddock... But will he ever come back to race full time in F1?
Needless to say, Fernando Alonso is and always will be a legend in the world of Formula One.
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