Fernando Alonso: master of the art of defying convention

Alonso's transfer to Aston Martin sent shockwaves through the world of Formula 1. By leaving Alpine to join Lawrence Stroll's team, the two-time world champion defied all predictions about his next destination.

When a 19-year-old Spaniard made his debut on the Melbourne circuit in 2001, few could have imagined the eventful journey that awaited Fernando Alonso. Spotted by Flavio Briatore after just one season in Formula 3000, the young talent made his Formula 1 debut with the modest Minardi team, a carefully considered decision aimed at protecting his development. After just seventeen races, Renault offered him a test driver position for 2002, and the following year he was a full-time driver for the French team. Alonso's four years in Renault's yellow and blue cars would become the highlight of his career. Between 2003 and 2006, he racked up 15 wins, 15 pole positions, and 37 podium finishes, and clinched back-to-back world titles in 2005 and 2006, ending Michael Schumacher's five-year reign at the top of the sport.

However, these triumphs sowed the seeds for his next venture. In December 2005, while still celebrating his first title, Alonso announced his transfer to McLaren for 2007, positioning himself as the team's star recruit. The move was billed as a step toward new challenges, but the reality turned out to be quite different. His rookie teammate, 22-year-old Lewis Hamilton, quickly exceeded expectations, winning six races and turning the championship battle into a three-way duel with Ferrari's Kimi Räikkönen. Alonso, accustomed to being the clear number one, found himself caught up in an internal rivalry that cost both drivers the title, while McLaren was then hit by a costly espionage scandal that cost it the constructors' championship.

Disillusioned, Alonso returned to a weakened Renault for the 2008 season. The R28, a step down from the leading cars, still allowed him to score two victories, in Singapore, amid the famous “Crashgate” controversy, and in Japan, highlighting his ability to get the most out of an inferior machine. The aerodynamic upheaval of the following year further marginalized the team, leaving it with only one pole position in Hungary and one podium finish in Singapore before the end of his second stint at Renault.

A new opportunity arose in 2010 when Ferrari, seeking to revive its fortunes after Kimi Räikkönen's semi-retirement, signed Alonso. This partnership coincided with the rise of Red Bull under Sebastian Vettel, and despite three consecutive runner-up finishes (including heartbreaking defeats in the final races of 2010 and 2012), Alonso never regained the title. Tensions grew within the Scuderia, with critics accusing him of overstepping his role. In 2014, Ferrari's transition to the V6 turbo-hybrid engine era left the team lagging behind, and the Spaniard's final season in the iconic red suit ended with a fourth-place finish in the standings, far behind the dominant Mercedes.

Alonso's career, marked by promising beginnings, strategic reversals, and recurring episodes of bad timing, illustrates how much a driver's fortunes can depend as much on a good car and a stable environment as on raw talent.

While most drivers consider their peak to be behind them, Fernando Alonso continues to prove otherwise. The Spaniard's relentless pursuit of a third world title has taken him from the heights of two championships to the depths of uncompetitive cars, and then back to the heights again, with a surprise move to Aston Martin that could be his last chance to win it all.

Alonso experienced his first disappointment in 2015, when he joined McLaren at a time when the team was renewing its partnership with Honda. After a six-year absence from the premier class, he arrived with high expectations, only to find himself with a V6 turbo engine closer to GP2 than Grand Prix. Due to reliability issues, McLaren struggled to score points, and an angry outburst over the radio at Suzuka, calling the engine a “GP2 engine,” summed up a season that ended with a meager total of 27 points. There was a slight rebound in 2016, when Honda's reliability improved and the team began to fight for points in the midfield. But this progress was short-lived: a disastrous chassis in 2017 left McLaren with no choice but to abandon Honda in favor of Renault in 2018. Even a promising fifth place in Australia could not hide the growing gap with Mercedes, Ferrari, and Red Bull, and the first chapter of Alonso's F1 career ended without him being able to claim a single victory. Freed from the F1 calendar, Alonso turned his attention to other disciplines. He won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2018 and repeated the feat in 2019, winning the World Endurance Championship. His ambition to join Graham Hill's exclusive Triple Crown led him to tackle the Indianapolis 500 twice, in 2017 and later, without success. He even ventured into rally raiding, finishing thirteenth in the 2020 Dakar Rally. The 2021 season, disrupted by the pandemic, has reshuffled the starting grid. Vettel's departure from Ferrari triggered a chain reaction: Carlos Sainz joined Ferrari, Daniel Ricciardo took Sainz's place at McLaren, and a seat became available at Alpine (the renamed Renault team). Alpine seized the opportunity to invite its former hero back for a third stint. Upon his return, Alonso reminded everyone why he is still a winner, scoring points consistently and finishing on the podium in Qatar, his first since 2014. The following season started off shaky, but the veteran driver maintained his momentum, qualifying second in Canada and scoring points in eight consecutive races.

All eyes turned to the Hungarian Grand Prix weekend, which traditionally marks the end of the summer break, in anticipation of Alpine signing a new contract with Alonso. Instead, the announcement that the 41-year-old double champion would replace four-time champion Sebastian Vettel at Aston Martin in 2023 sent shockwaves through the paddock. While rivals such as Mick Schumacher, Nyck De Vries, and Daniel Ricciardo were tipped for the Aston Martin seat, the team chose the experienced driver from Oviedo, marking his fifth F1 team and, perhaps, his last chance to win that elusive third title.

Alonso's career has been marked by a series of bold, sometimes puzzling choices: returning to McLaren-Honda when the team was struggling, abandoning endurance racing for a surprise return to Alpine, and now jumping to an ambitious new team, Aston Martin. It remains to be seen whether his gamble will pay off, but one thing is certain: the Spaniard still knows how to defy expectations in this sport, and he will not retire without making a splash.