Fernando Alonso | Spanish F1 driver and double World Champion

Fernando Alonso

Team: Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro
F1 Debut: 2001 - Australian Grand Prix

Fernando Alonso is regarded by some as the fastest and most talented driver in Formula One today. After all, he is the man who ended Michael Schumacher's reign of championship success. However, Fernando's mental strength became questionable after the rapid breakdown of his relationship at McLaren in 2007 when he could not handle the challenge from Lewis Hamilton.

Alonso raced in the Formula 3000 series before debuting with Minardi in 2001. His performances with Minardi caught the eye of Renault management, and also Michael Schumacher who privately admitted that he felt Alonso would be his fiercest rival in the years ahead.

Michael was right.

Fernando Alonso became a Renault test driver in 2002 with the promise of a race drive the following year. He impressed immediately in his first Grand Prix with the French team and outperformed his car on many occasions. Alonso took his first victory in 2003 and also managed three other podium finishes. He was pushed hard by his Renault teammate, Jarno Trulli, and the two worked well together until Trulli was sacked midway through 2004.

2005 was Alonso's coming of age. New tyres rules favoured the Renault team and a few years of experience had developed him into a formidable driver. He took seven wins that year on his way to the world title, and followed this up with another championship in 2006. Both title victories were close but Fernando proved that he was more than a match for any driver in the field. In the thrilling Japanese Grand Prix in 2005, Alonso overtook Michael Schumacher around the outside of the fearsome 130R corner. There are some that say, rather poetically, that it marked the moment Alonso took over Michael's unofficial position as the fastest man in Formula One.

Before the 2006 season had even started, Alonso had signed with McLaren for 2007. Fernando wanted to spend the rest of his career with Ron Dennis' team but his relationship with McLaren rapidly broke down in spectacular fashion. Alonso's contract was terminated after just one year during which time he tried to blackmail his boss and helped the FIA fine McLaren 100 million dollars for cheating.

Alonso started to feel uneasy at McLaren as soon as he met the factory staff. During a 'meet the drivers' day, Fernando was miffed that all of the factory workers were more interested in his British teammate, Lewis Hamilton. That feeling grew worse and worse when Hamilton started challenging Alonso's position on the timesheets.

Fernando lost his cool more than once during 2007, on and off the track, and ultimately it cost him the championship. He lost point scoring opportunities through frustration, particularly in Spain and Canada, and ended up just one point behind eventual champion Kimi Raikkonen. Partway through the year Alonso told Ron Dennis that if he didn't receive preferential treatment over Lewis Hamilton, he would provide evidence to the FIA that implied McLaren had copied Ferrari's confidential information. Ron refused to play Alonso's game so Fernando willingly gave the evidence that later had McLaren fined 100 million dollars. He left the team with little dignity.

Alonso's battered reputation was not helped on his return to Renault where he was the beneficiary of the team's premeditated cheating in Singapore. Alonso claims not to have known about the plot to manipulate the Grand Prix result, but still believes his win in that race was just as valid as any other. It does make you question his morals, and that fractured mindset might continue to haunt him in the future.

A fired up Felipe Massa may big his biggest challenge yet.

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