Know the F1 stars: Fernando Alonso

After retaining the title the following year, Alonso also became 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.

From the 2010 season, Alonso will be racing for Scuderia Ferrari.

This season Alonso has been hampered by a less-than competitive car. He has struggled to break clear of the midfield on numerous occasions.

He scored an unexpected pole in Hungary, but retired from the race after losing a wheel following a bungled pit stop. Last season he helped transform Renault’s R28 from a lacklustre performer into a race-winning machine, scoring back-to-back victories late in the season, including Formula One’s inaugural night race in Singapore. He finished fifth overall.

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.

FACT FILE
Date of Birth 29/07/1981
Place of Birth Oviedo
Nationality Spanish
Team Renault
Races 138 (137 starts)
Wins 21
Podiums 53
Points 577
World Championships 2
Highest race finish 1 (x21)
Highest grid position 1 (x18)
First race 2001 Australian Grand Prix
First win 2003 Hungarian Grand Prix
Last win 2008 Japanese Grand Prix
2008 position .5th (61 pts)

KNOW YOUR STARS

• . Nicknamed ‘El Nano,’ Alonso acts as a Goodwill Ambassador for Unicef and is one of the directors of the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association
   
• 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 his eight-year-old daughter Lorena, but unlike her three-year-old brother, Alonso, she showed no interest in the sport.
   
• Alonso is married to Raquel del Rosario, lead singer of Spanish pop band El Sueño de Morfeo. The wedding was on November 17, 2006.
   
• He currently lives in Oxford, England, and owns a house in Mont-sur-Rolle, near Lake Geneva, Switzerland.
   
• Alonso is an avid card tricks fan and usually plays cards when he’s hanging out with Robert Kubica during the race weekend.
   
• He is also interested in other sports, like cycling, football and tennis. He has recently bought a Tour De France cycling team.
   
• As well as Spanish, he speaks Italian, French and English.