Fernando Alonso
Spanish · 2001–present
Photo: Zach Catanzareti Photo · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Alonso in numbers
2,400 official points
2Drivers’ titles
2005, 2006
12th of 789 all time
2Constructors’ titles
2005, 2006
24th of 789 all time
7.2% of races
5% of races
23.9% of races
0Drivers’ titles
none
0Constructors’ titles
none
2Drivers’ titles
2005, 2006
of 2 in the career
2Constructors’ titles
2005, 2006
of 2 in the career
16.2% of races with Renault
15.2% of races with Renault
39% of races with Renault
0Drivers’ titles
none
0Constructors’ titles
none
4.3% of races with McLaren
2.1% of races with McLaren
12.8% of races with McLaren
0Drivers’ titles
none
0Constructors’ titles
none
11.5% of races with Ferrari
4.2% of races with Ferrari
45.8% of races with Ferrari
0Drivers’ titles
none
0Constructors’ titles
none
2.3% of races with Alpine
0Drivers’ titles
none
0Constructors’ titles
none
9.2% of races with Aston Martin
Fernando Alonso is the most decorated Spanish driver in history and, for many, one of the most complete ever. The Asturian from Oviedo broke the Ferrari-Schumacher stranglehold with Renault, winning back-to-back titles in 2005 and 2006 and becoming the youngest champion in history at the time.
What cemented his legend was not only those titles but his knack for wringing more from cars than they should give. He fell just short of the championship in 2007, 2010 and 2012, the latter dragging an inferior Ferrari to the final race against Vettel's dominant Red Bull. His race intelligence, wet-weather pace and calculated aggression make him unpredictable and feared.
He backed projects that never came good (the McLaren-Honda return was an ordeal) yet never lost his speed. He won the 24 Hours of Le Mans twice and the World Endurance Championship, then returned to F1 with Alpine and Aston Martin. More than two decades at the top, still fighting for podiums past forty, define a career shaped as much by talent as by misfortune.
What if Alonso had another car?
We took his real attributes and put him in the best car of each era: in a real driver's seat, against the team-mate that car actually had. 20 full seasons in each.
| Car | Team-mate | Finish | Wins | Titles |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| McLaren1988 | Alain Prost-18 pts | P1.6 | 6.8 | 40% |
| Williams1992 | Riccardo Patrese+97 pts | P1 | 11.2 | 100% |
| Ferrari2002 | Rubens Barrichello+110 pts | P1 | 14.9 | 100% |
| Red Bull2013 | Mark Webber+124 pts | P1 | 16.4 | 100% |
| Mercedes2016 | Lewis Hamilton+16 pts | P1.4 | 11.2 | 60% |
| Red Bull2023 | Sergio Perez+112 pts | P1 | 18.9 | 100% |
| Cadillac2026 · 11th on the grid | Valtteri Bottas+51 pts | P9 | 0 | 0% |
The only one who beats him is Alain Prost in the 1988 McLaren: 18 points clear over a full season.
Alonso against everyone, in the same car
We put the 11 names that come up most often head to head with identical machinery, 150 seasons of 18 races per duel. Alonso comes out 6 of 11, between Hamilton and Vettel.
The full league, duel by duel, with who beats whom and by how much.
Rating by season
- First season
- 84 2001
- Peak
- 94 2005
- 2026
- 86 Aston Martin
23 seasons in the database, from 2001 to 2026. Our own rating, from 50 to 99.
Teams
Tags
Best year
2012
What would Fernando Alonso have achieved with a different car or in a different era?
Hypotheses featuring Fernando Alonso
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His team-mates
14 team-mates across 23 seasons. When both finished the race, Alonso was ahead in 222 of 287; on the grid he started ahead in 328 of 440.
| Year | Team-mate | In the race | On the grid |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Tarso MarquesMinardi · 13 races | 2-0 | 11-2 |
| 2001 | Alex YoongMinardi · 3 races | 1-0 | 3-0 |
| 2003 | Jarno TrulliRenault · 16 races | 5-2 | 8-8 |
| 2004 | Jarno TrulliRenault · 15 races | 4-4 | 7-8 |
| 2004 | Jacques VilleneuveRenault · 3 races | 3-0 | 2-1 |
| 2005 | Giancarlo FisichellaRenault · 19 races | 10-3 | 15-4 |
| 2006 | Giancarlo FisichellaRenault · 18 races | 13-2 | 12-6 |
| 2007 | Lewis HamiltonMcLaren · 17 races | 9-6 | 7-10 |
| 2008 | Nelson Piquet Jr.Renault · 18 races | 6-2 | 18-0 |
| 2009 | Nelson Piquet Jr.Renault · 10 races | 6-1 | 9-1 |
| 2009 | Romain GrosjeanRenault · 7 races | 4-0 | 7-0 |
| 2010 | Felipe MassaFerrari · 19 races | 13-3 | 15-4 |
| 2011 | Felipe MassaFerrari · 19 races | 13-2 | 15-4 |
| 2012 | Felipe MassaFerrari · 20 races | 17-0 | 18-2 |
| 2013 | Felipe MassaFerrari · 19 races | 15-1 | 11-8 |
| 2014 | Kimi RäikkönenFerrari · 19 races | 15-1 | 16-3 |
| 2015 | Jenson ButtonMcLaren · 18 races | 4-5 | 10-8 |
| 2016 | Jenson ButtonMcLaren · 20 races | 7-4 | 15-5 |
| 2017 | Stoffel VandoorneMcLaren · 19 races | 5-1 | 14-5 |
| 2018 | Stoffel VandoorneMcLaren · 21 races | 9-1 | 20-1 |
| 2021 | Esteban OconAlpine F1 Team · 22 races | 9-9 | 11-11 |
| 2022 | Esteban OconAlpine F1 Team · 22 races | 8-7 | 12-9 |
| 2023 | Lance StrollAston Martin · 22 races | 14-2 | 17-3 |
| 2024 | Lance StrollAston Martin · 24 races | 14-5 | 19-5 |
| 2025 | Lance StrollAston Martin · 23 races | 13-3 | 22-1 |
| 2026 | Lance StrollAston Martin · 17 races | 3-1 | 14-3 |
The first number is always Alonso's. A team-mate is whoever started the same race for the same team. "In the race" only counts races both finished, because a retirement says nothing about who was quicker. "On the grid" is the starting position, with penalties already applied.
Compare Alonso with another driver
Titles, wins, poles and podiums side by side, against any of the 789 drivers in history.
Keep reading
Where Fernando Alonso comes up in what we have measured, with our own numbers.
- 7 min readAston Martin have fixed the chassis, not the engine, and Monza will prove itAlonso started 18th at Zandvoort and finished 9th. The easy reading is that the team has woken up. But the two races where the new car has looked g…
- 9 min readTwelve teammate duels, in exactly the same carSenna against Prost, Alonso against Hamilton, Hamilton against Rosberg: twelve real pairings, five seasons each, machinery exactly equalised. The m…
- 8 min readSeven transfers that never happened, actually run: four would have changed nothingWe genuinely placed each driver in the car he never drove, against that year’s real grid. Alonso in Vettel’s Red Bull wins exactly what Vettel won:…