> 2009 - Disillusion

The new Renault R29 car was not up to his expectations at the start of the year, after it performed poorly in winter testing. He had a good race at the Nurburgring finishing in the points and near the Brawn cars. For the last stint, Fernando was the fastest man on the track, half a second quicker than the leaders. The Hungarian Grand Prix brought major disappointment for the Spaniard. He qualified on pole for the first time this season (on a short fuel load) and led for the first stint of the race until disaster struck. The pitcrew didn't fit the wheel correctly, and it came off during Alonso's first lap out of the pits. He finished in a respectable sixth place at the 2009 European Grand Prix ahead of world championship leader Jenson Button, but retired from the next race in Belgium in a near repeat of the front tyre incident in Hungary. This time however, the tyre was damaged after contact with Adrian Sutil's Force India, which meant a disastrous pit stop when a replacement tyre could not be fitted properly, and Renault chose to retire him on safety grounds. He has since improved to a third place podium on the controversial Singapore gp, showing that he has skill and the pace needed to get results on this difficult track.

> 2008: the return to Renault (home sweet home)

Alonso was linked with several teams for the 2008 season after his split with McLaren. Renault, Red Bull, Toyota and Honda were all suggested in the media. Renault's Flavio Briatore stated that he would welcome Alonso's return to the French team. On 10 December 2007, Alonso signed a two-year contract to drive for Renault F1alongside Brazilian driver Nelson Piquet, Jr. for around £25 million.
In the first two rounds of the 2008 season, the Renault was not as competitive as it had previously been. Alonso finished fourth and eighth in Australia and Malaysia respectively. After these two races, there were rumours that Alonso would leave the team because he was disappointed with his Renault and was either moving to BMW Sauber, Honda or Toyota. BMW boss Mario Theissen was keen to get Alonso to replace Nick Heidfeld in order to get the team their first win. Honda rumours started when Alonso said in an interview that he felt there was something about Honda and he wanted to go there replacing Jenson Button and partnering Brazilian rookie Bruno Senna. Toyota said they were eager to give Alonso their seat. But the most likely place that Alonso would go was to replace Felipe Massa at Ferrari in 2009, especially in light of the general belief that there was an "out clause" in Fernando Alonso's contract with Renault which would give him the freedom to move to another team for the next season should he be able to secure a deal. However Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo stated that Massa's seat in the team was secure and would stay that way until the end of his contract in 2010. Kimi Räikkönen has also been given a two-year contract extension to partner Massa until the end of 2010, essentially closing the door on Alonso for a possible move to Ferrari. Alonso too has denied this "out clause" rumour in 2008.

> 2007 : McLaren

On December 19, 2005, Fernando Alonso announced that he would be moving to McLaren for 2007. His contract with Renault was set to expire on December 31, 2006. However, on December 15, 2006, Alonso was allowed by Flavio Briatore and the Renault F1 Team to test for one day for McLaren in the Jerez circuit, as a result of his successes with Renault. Driving an unbranded MP4-21 and wearing a plain white helmet and overalls, Alonso completed 95 laps. Lewis Hamilton was chosen as his partner for the season. McLaren were reported to be paying Alonso £ 20 million (approx $ 39 million c. 2007) in 2007. Alonso debuted with the new McLaren car on January 15, 2007, in the streets of Valencia.

On 8 April 2007 in his second race for the team, Alonso secured his first win for McLaren, and the team's first since 2005, by leading the majority of the Malaysian Grand Prix. A difficult drive at Bahrain's Sakhir circuit on 15 April, saw him finishing 5th behind his rookie team mate who took a podium finish. In the fourth race of the year in Spain, his home grand prix, he qualified second. He had a first lap collision with Felipe Massa which caused some damage to his car and dropped him to fourth. He finished the race third. On May 27, Alonso secured his second victory for McLaren at Monaco, scoring pole position, fastest lap and the race win and in the process lapping the entire field up to 3rd position. At the Nürburgring he took his third win of the year in a dramatic race affected by intermittent rain showers, overtaking Ferrari's Felipe Massa for the lead with just four laps remaining. After the controversy at the 2007 Hungarian Grand Prix, however, relations between Alonso and his team declined. It was reported in the media that he was no longer on speaking terms with Hamilton, and it was speculated that he may leave McLaren at the end of the season. On 7 August 2007 The Times reported that McLaren would let Alonso leave the team at the end of the season if he wished, two years earlier than his contract allowed. In spite of this, Alonso still managed to finish a creditable third in the driver's championship, level on points with team-mate Hamilton and just one point behind World Champion Kimi Räikkönen (the closest 1-2-3 in WDC history).

As part of the espionage controversy between McLaren and Ferrari, the former were found guilty of breaching the Article 151c of the FIA's sporting regulations but went unpunished due to a lack of evidence. However, following the acquisition of new evidence by the FIA, a new hearing was held on September 13. The new evidence consisted largely of email traffic between Alonso and test driver Pedro de la Rosa. The FIA's World Motor Sport Council report following the hearing stated that Alonso and de la Rosa had obtained and used confidential Ferrari technical data and sporting strategy information from senior McLaren engineer Mike Coughlan via Ferrari employee Nigel Stepney, including during test sessions. Both drivers were spared sanctions in exchange for providing evidence.

On 2 November 2007, after a turbulent year with McLaren, it was announced that McLaren and Alonso had mutually agreed to terminate his contract and that he would be free to join any team for 2008 without paying McLaren any compensation.

> 2006: 2nd World Championship in Alonso's pocket

Alonso won the first race of the 2006 Formula One season at Bahrain, overtaking Michael Schumacher after coming out of the pit lane with 18 laps left, after starting fourth. He qualified seventh at the Malaysian Grand Prix due to a fuelling error but finished second to team mate Giancarlo Fisichella. He won the Australian Grand Prix after overtaking leader Jenson Button's Honda.

After poor qualifying at San Marino, Alonso was unable to pass Michael Schumacher in an encounter that echoed their battle the previous year. Schumacher beat Alonso again in the European Grand Prix after the Spaniard started on pole. But Alonso hit back, becoming the first Spaniard to win his home race on May 14, 2006 in the Spanish Grand Prix.

He took pole position for the Monaco Grand Prix after Schumacher was penalised by the stewards for "deliberately [stopping] his car on the circuit in the last few minutes of qualifying", denying his rivals, Alonso included, the opportunity of recording fastest qualifying lap. Alonso won the race.

He extended his winning streak to four races with victories in Britain and Canada. Both wins came from pole position, and the British round was his first win, pole and fastest lap treble.

Schumacher's fight back began at Indianapolis where the German won and Alonso was fifth. Schumacher won the French Grand Prix, with Alonso in second, and the Spaniard was fifth in the German Grand Prix. That cut Alonso's championship lead to 11 points.

Alonso incurred a penalty for an infraction in practice at the Hungarian Grand Prix which left him 15th on the grid. Schumacher started 11th after receiving a similar penalty. Alonso looked set for an unlikely win as he overtook most of the field, including Schumacher around the outside of turn five, as he showed prowess in the wet conditions. But he crashed out of the race when a wheel nut fell off his car following a pit stop. Schumacher scored one point after Robert Kubica was disqualified.

Alonso finished second in Turkey, holding back third-placed Schumacher to claim two vital points. But he lost a lot of ground after a controversial Italian Grand Prix. He suffered a puncture during qualifying that damaged bodywork at the back of his car. He qualified fifth but was later punished by the stewards for impeding Felipe Massa's Ferrari, and he started the race from the 10th position. In the race he rose to third place before an engine failure forced him to withdraw. Schumacher won the Grand Prix and cut Alonso's Championship lead to two points.

At the following round in China, Alonso took pole position during a wet qualifying session but finished second to Schumacher in the race. The result tied Alonso and Schumacher on points in the drivers championship.

At the Japanese Grand Prix, the Ferraris of Schumacher and Massa qualified first and second, more than half a second faster than the Renaults in fifth and sixth. But during the race Alonso rose to second and took the win after Schumacher's engine failed. It gave him a ten point advantage over Schumacher, needing only one point from the final round to retain the title.

Second place in the Brazilian Grand Prix on October 22 gave Alonso the championship. With Schumacher finishing fourth, the final difference was 13 points. Alonso thus became the youngest double champion in the sport's history. Renault also clinched the Constructors' Championship with a 5-point gap over Ferrari.

> 2005 : 1st World Title For Spain

For the 2005 season, Alonso was joined at Renault by Italian driver Giancarlo Fisichella. At the first race in Australia Alonso started near the back due to rain in qualifying but fought his way to third. He won the next two races in Malaysia and Bahrain from pole position, and took a third win in the San Marino Grand Prix after a 13-lap battle with Michael Schumacher.

McLaren's improving form saw Räikkönen win in Spain and Monaco while Alonso finished second and fourth, respectively. Räikkönen was on course to win the European Grand Prix at the Nürburgring when his car's front-right suspension failed (due to a flat spot on the tyre caused by Räikkönen locking his wheels under braking while passing Jacques Villeneuve) on the last lap, giving victory to Alonso.

Alonso failed to score in the Canadian and United States Grands Prix. He crashed out of the former, and in the latter all the Michelin runners withdrew due to safety concerns over their tyres.

Alonso took his third pole position and fifth win at the French Grand Prix. He followed this with pole position a week later at the British Grand Prix, where he finished a second behind Montoya. McLaren's poor reliability granted another win to Alonso at the German Grand Prix when Kimi Räikkönen's car suffered hydraulic failure.

He qualified 6th in the Hungarian Grand Prix but finished 11th after a collision with the Toyota of Ralf Schumacher.

As the season entered its final stages Alonso finished second in three consecutive races, collecting vital championship points. Räikkönen won in Turkey and Belgium, but was fourth at Monza after engine trouble in qualifying, meaning Alonso's lead had been reduced by only one point.

Alonso sealed the title by finishing third in Brazil while Montoya won from Räikkönen. The Spaniard became the youngest Drivers' Champion at the age of 24 years and 59 days old, breaking Emerson Fittipaldi's record. He also ended the 5-year dominance of Michael Schumacher.

Commenting on his victory, he said: "I just want to dedicate this championship to my family, and all my close friends who have supported me through my career. Spain is not a country with an F1 culture, and we had to fight alone, every step of the way, to make this happen. A huge thank-you should also go to the team as well — they are the best in Formula One, and we have done this together. It will say that I am world champion, but we are all champions — and they deserve this." In the May 2007 issue of F1 Racing, Alonso said that the 2005 Brazilian Grand Prix was his greatest race. He said, "It was a dream come true and a very emotional day. In the last few laps I leaped, thinking I could hear noises from the engine- from everywhere! But all was okay and I can remember my relief when I crossed the finish line."

The Japanese and Chinese Grands Prix saw Alonso and Renault abandon the conservative style evident in Brazil when he was still chasing the drivers' title. Starting from 16th on the grid, he eventually finished third behind Räikkönen and Fisichella. The Chinese Grand Prix saw Renault and Alonso win to claim the first Constructor’s Championship for the Renault F1 team.

In 2005, he was awarded with the Sports Prince of Asturias Award.

> 2004 - Learning with Renault

Alonso remained with Renault for the 2004 season, scoring podiums in Australia, France, Germany and Hungary. At Indianapolis he suffered a high-speed accident while running in third place after a tyre deflated. In France he took pole position and finished second, running Michael Schumacher close for victory. Towards the end of the year teammate Jarno Trulli's performances deteriorated and he dropped Renault boss Flavio Briatore as his manager. Trulli's relationship with the team deteriorated to the extent that he signed for Toyota from 2005 onwards. Alonso ended the year fourth in the championship standings with 59 points.

> 2002-2003 Renault (test driver; driver)

Alonso became test driver for Renault in 2002 (Renault having taken over the Benetton team) and did 1,642 laps of testing that year. In 2003 Briatore dropped Button and put Alonso in the second seat alongside Jarno Trulli.[6]

The Spaniard became the youngest driver to achieve a Formula One pole position at the 2003 Malaysian Grand Prix. Alonso had a 180mph crash at the 2003 Brazilian Grand Prix, the result of missing the double yellow flags and Safety Car boards brought out by Mark Webber's earlier crash and colliding with the debris.[10] The race was red-flagged. He finished second at his home grand prix two races later, and at the time became the youngest driver to win a Formula One race at the 2003 Hungarian Grand Prix. He finished the year sixth in the championship, with 55 points and four podiums.