Fernando Alonso

Who is Fernando Alonso?

Fernando Alonso Díaz is a Spanish Formula One racing driver and a two-time World Champion who is currently racing for Scuderia Ferrari.

Alonso started in karting from the age of 3. He won three consecutive karting championships in Spain from 1994 to 1997, and he became world karting champion in 1996. He made his Formula One debut in the 2001 season with Minardi, and then moved to the Renault as a test driver the next year. Starting in 2003 Alonso then became one of the main drivers of the team. On 25 September 2005, he won the Formula One World Driver's Championship title at the age of 24 years and 58 days, at the time making him the youngest Formula One World Drivers' Champion. After retaining the title the following year, Alonso also became the youngest double Champion at the time. He joined McLaren in 2007, before returning to Renault for two seasons in 2008 and 2009, and in 2010, he joined Scuderia Ferrari.

Nicknamed El Nano, a typical pseudonym for Fernando in Asturias, his place of birth, Alonso acts as a Goodwill Ambassador for UNICEF. Alonso also had become the youngest driver to win a pole position and Grand Prix respectively in the 2003 Malaysian Grand Prix and the 2003 Hungarian Grand Prix, before both records were broken by Sebastian Vettel in the 2008 Italian Grand Prix. With his fourth place finish in the 2013 Japanese Grand Prix, scoring his 1,571st career point, Alonso took over the record for most championship points in his career.