> 2001 : Minardi (first F1 season)

Alonso was the third-youngest driver ever to start a F1 race when he made his debut with Minardi at the 2001 Australian Grand Prix. The team was in its first season under the control of new owner Paul Stoddart and their new car, the PS01, was neither fast nor reliable. However Alonso's qualifying performance was good, at his first race he out-qualified team mate Tarso Marques by 2.6s. At the fourth round at Imola he outqualified both of the Benettons, a feat he repeated later in the season.

Notable performances over the 2001 season had earned him some attention from the faster teams. It was reported in September 2001 by some of the European press that Sauber were looking to replace outgoing Kimi Räikkönen with the Spaniard although he was facing competition for the seat from Felipe Massa and then Jaguar test driver Andre Lotterer. A month later it was confirmed that Massa was going to take the vacant Sauber seat for 2002.

In September, his manager Flavio Briatore had begun planning to place Alonso at Benetton. Briatore considered promoting Alonso for 2002, in place of his race driver Jenson Button, but instead chose to take Alonso on as a full-time test driver for 2002. At the final round of 2001 at Suzuka he finished eleventh — five places outside the points but ahead of Heinz-Harald Frentzen’s Prost-Ferrari, the BAR-Honda of Olivier Panis, the two Arrows and his team mate Alex Yoong. Four years later, his team boss from the Minardi days, Paul Stoddart, described his race as "53 laps of qualifying". He scored no points in the season.

> The " ALONSOMANIA"

Alonsomania is the fan phenomenon about Alonso that reached its zenith in 2005. His success fuelled an increase in interest in Formula One in Spain. On September 25, 2005, a huge party began in Alonso's home town of Oviedo when he became the country's first Formula One World Champion and the youngest in the sport's history at the time. Alonso's fans are recognized by the light blue and yellow Asturias flags which are coincidentally the same colors used by the Mild Seven Renault team between 2002 and 2006. After his championship win, a widely-visited exhibition of Alonso's racing gear was held in Oviedo.

> Career Records

• Youngest double World Champion: 25 years, 85 days in 2006
• Youngest driver and least number of races to score 500 points at the 2008 French Grand Prix
• Winner of the first F1 GP held at night (2008 Singapore Grand Prix).
• Winner of the 800th Grand Prix (2008 Singapore Grand Prix).

> Career Summary

Season	Series	Team Name	Races	Poles	Wins	Points	Final Placing
1999	Euro Open by Nissan	Campos Motorsport	15	9	6	164	1st
2000	International Formula 3000	Team Astromega	9	1	1	17	4th
2001	Formula One	Minardi	17	0	0	0	23rd
2002	Formula One	Renault	Test driver
2003	Formula One	Renault	16	2	1	55	6th
2004	Formula One	Renault	18	1	0	59	4th
2005	Formula One	Renault	19	6	7	133	1st
2006	Formula One	Renault	18	6	7	134	1st
2007	Formula One	McLaren	17	2	4	109	3rd
2008	Formula One	Renault	18	0	2	61	5th
2009	Formula One	Renault	16	1	0	26	9th*

> Early Career

As a child, Alonso participated in karting competitions around Spain, supported by his father, who also doubled as his mechanic. His family lacked the financial resources needed to develop a career in motorsport, but his victories attracted sponsorship and the required funds. Alonso won four Spanish championships back-to-back in the junior category, between 1993 and 1996 and the Junior World Cup in 1996. He won the Spanish and Italian Inter-A titles in 1997 and in 1998 won the Spanish Inter-A title again as well as finishing second in the European Championship.
Former Minardi F1 driver Adrián Campos gave Alonso his first test in a race car in October 1998. After three days of testing at the Albacete circuit, Alonso had matched the lap times of Campos' previous driver Marc Gené. Campos signed Alonso to race for him in the 1999 Spanish Euro Open MoviStar by Nissan series. In his second race, again at Albacete, Alonso won for the first time. He took the championship by one point from championship rival Manuel Giao by winning and setting fastest lap at the last race of the season. Alonso also tested for the Minardi Formula One team, lapping 1.5 seconds faster than the other drivers at the test.
The following season Alonso moved up to Formula 3000, which was often the final step for drivers before ascending to Formula One. Alonso joined Team Astromega and was the youngest driver in the series that year by eleven months. Alonso didn't score a point until the seventh race of the year, but in the final two rounds he took a second place and a victory, enough for him to end the season fourth overall behind Bruno Junqueira, Nicolas Minassian and Mark Webber.

> Fernando Alonso Diaz

... was born in Oviedo, Asturias in northern Spain. His mother worked in a department store and his father was employed as a mechanic in an explosives factory near Oviedo. Alonso has an older sister, Lorena. Alonso's father José Luis, an amateur kart racer, wanted to pass on his passion to his children. He built a kart, originally meant for eight-year-old Lorena, but unlike her three-year-old brother, she showed no interest in the sport.
Alonso is married to Raquel del Rosario, lead singer of Spanish pop band El Sueño de Morfeo. The two were married on November 17, 2006.
He currently lives in Oxford, England, and owns a house in Mont-sur-Rolle, near Lake Geneva, Switzerland. He is an avid card tricks fan and usually plays cards when he's hanging out with Robert Kubica during the race weekend. He is also interested in other sports, like cycling, football and tennis. He has recently bought a Tour De France cycling team.
As well as Spanish, he speaks Italian, French and English.