Born in Oviedo, Spain, Fernando Alonso was about to be one of the most significant race car drivers that ever entered the Spanish circuit. It was when his father bought his sister a go-kart that he fell in love with it. The first ride on that little kart involved feelings of passion in the young boy. The first series he entered was in 1988. That year, he won all eight races, and his parents were very supportive of his career. He joined the Genikart team in 1993, and he won the Spanish championship.
By 1994, things were destined to change for the karting expert as he headed to the big leagues. He finished third in the World Championships. However, he only improved his game, and by 1996, he won the World Championship in the junior division. In 1998, Adrian Campos saw him racing and believed he had something special. So he gave him a test car, and he joined the Campos’ Formula Nissan Team.
His first World Series win was in 1999 at the Euro Open. His drive times were impressive as he beat the others by 1.5 seconds. Minardi initiated a ten-year contract as he moved up the ladder. It was only his second full year of racing cars, and when he enrolled in the F3000, he was the youngest driver there. Things weren’t easy for him, and this was a difficult season. He finished fourth at the season finale.
The years 2001-2002 were rather difficult for the young driver, but 2003 proved to be different. He headed to Malaysia and became the youngest person ever to be a pole position holder during the second race. Then, he went to Hungary and was given the title of the youngest person to ever win the Grand Prix, which succeeded Michael Schumacher.
The victories in 2003 were overshadowed by the losses in 2004. He was with Briatore at that point, and they were becoming concerned with his position in the races. Fisichella replaced him. With the sting of defeat under him, 2005 was his comeback year. He won seven victories and the championship.
In 2006, Alonso was given a series of blows. After his engine blew in the Japanese Grand Prix, he was forced to forfeit the race. Down but not out, he became the youngest driver to win back-to-back titles, and he beat out the seven-time champion at the McLaren in 2007. Six seasons went by with scandal and losses, and he felt as if his time with racing was about over. In 2013, he became the runner up in the Vettel in Australia. He did win the race in China, but things were tough, and his management team was in constant upheaval.
Things progressively got worse for Alonso, and he was disallowed in the 2014 race at Ferrari. Stefano Domenicali, the team principal, resigned after the year they had in Bahrain, and Alonso followed suit. He decided to go back to McLaren, which was a team he had left in bad terms years ago. Giving his career another chance, he crashed early on in the race. Many mysterious circumstances led them to believe the accident might have been staged. Alas, he suffered a horrible concussion and was told he had to miss the opening race of the next season.
After a rough run the past few years, Alonso was concerned about where his career was going. It was his third year with the McLaren company, and he doubted any other agencies would sign him. He crashed in Melbourne with Esteban Gutierrez, and he was unable to continue in round two of the race in Bahrain. He was done! With many years of wins and some hard times with terrible losses, Alonso finished his career in 2016.