Fernando Alonso It was one of the right names in the news last weekend. Asturian debuted in Aston Martin within Bahrain Grand Prix and it’s hard to do better. The Spaniard finished third, adding what was his 99th podium. It was one of the best debuts for Oviedo with a team. Although it had better, but also worse.
1
Minardi – 12th
2001
His debut as an official Formula 1 driver came at the age of 19 and not bad for being the third youngest in history to achieve it at the time. In qualifying Alonso finished 19th at the Australian Grand Prix and survived a race where he abandoned many people to finish 12th. It’s not a bad debut at the Great Circus.
2
Renault – 7th
2003
After a year as a test driver, Alonso returned as a factory driver in 2003 with Renault. He took advantage of the first opportunity with a top team in the best possible way, achieving his first victory of the year in Hungary and his first pole position and podium in Malaysia, which was only the second GP of the season. In Australia, the opening race, the French suffered more and Alonso started 10th and finished 7th, always ahead of Trulli.
3
McLaren – 2nd
2007
What ended in a nightmare began with a really promising taste in the mouth. After winning two consecutive championships, the Spaniard went to Woking to continue his reign in Formula 1. His rivalry with Hamilton was seen from the first race in Australia where the Spaniard won, taking second place ahead of Englishman. The winner, and later world champion, was Kimi Räikkönen.
4
Ferrari – 1st
2010
The best debut for Alonso was undoubtedly at Ferrari. With his signing for the people of Maranello, the expectations around the project were very exciting and immediately fulfilled. In the Bahrain GP,the opening race, the Spaniard was victorious after Vettel had reliability problems with his Red Bull. To cap off a dream start for the Scuderia, Massa finished second on the day. Unfortunately for the Spaniard, the end of the World Cup in Abu Dhabi was more cruel.
5
McLaren – OUT
2015
The start of the McLaren-Honda project was a prelude to what was to come over the next three years. First in the tests Alonso had an accident that prevented him from participating in the opening race in Australia. He returned to the Malaysian race at Sepang but was unable to finish due to reliability issues. It was a routine affair during the four years he was back with Woking and ended up with his first withdrawal.
6
Alpine – OUT
2021
After two years away from the Great Circus, Alonso’s return to Formula 1 was not as desired. Despite entering Q3 in qualifying for the Bahrain GP, the Spaniard had to retire due to brake problems in his first Alpine race. Later, from the Enstone team they confirmed that it was a sandwich wrapper that entered the system and forced the abandonment.
7
Aston Martin – 3rd
2023
Last Sunday Fernando’s seventh debut with a team was completed and he achieved his third podium in a debut with a team. He climbed into the third drawer with an incredible overtaking of Sainz and Hamilton with the Aston Martin.
It was one of the most famous premieres because since 2013 Alonso has not started a World Cup by getting on the podium and it means that for the first time since he was at Ferrari he has a car to fight for the important things.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Rose Herman and I work as an author for Today Times Live. My expertise lies in writing about sports, a passion of mine that has been with me since childhood. As part of my job, I provide comprehensive coverage on everything from football to tennis to golf.
