On March 23, 2003, at the Malaysian GP, Fernando Alonso He showed the world his quality as a driver, his talent behind the wheel of F-1, leading the generation of drivers who came to the grid at the beginning of the century, to stay and succeed. Having started with a small structure, like Minardi, Alonso did not have to wait too long to exploit his potential in the top teams in the World Cup.
So, at the dawn of the 2003 season, Alonso made his return to the grid as new renault driver. It is a period of dominance Michael Schumacher with Ferrari.
In the second GP of the year, in Sepang (Malaysia), the fuse was lit for the first big ‘nano’ fireworks in the qualifying session. Alonso took the first pole position of his career, after setting a time of 1:31.044.
His record means everything a record of precocity, obtaining qualy with only 21 years, 7 months and 23 days. Since then, only German Sebastian Vettel and Monegasque Charles Leclerc have surpassed their mark. Jarno Trulli, at the wheel of another R23, completed the party at Renault by qualifying in second position.
In Sunday’s race, Alonso and Trulli led in the early stages, followed by Schumacher and Dave Coulthard. After a turbulent start, victory in the Malaysian Grand Prix will be played out between Alonso, 21, and Kimi Raikkonen, out of 23. The McLaren driver did everything to reduce the gap to the Spaniard in the first ten laps. But the rivalry between the two talented drivers did not last long. With little fuel, Alonso stopped on lap 14 to refuel, while Raikkonen was able to continue until lap 19. The Finn took the opportunity to push through those five laps, managing to exit the pits ahead of Fernando.
Already leading the race and no one ahead, Raikkonen imposed his law. Meanwhile, Alonso saw how Rubens Barrichello differences are reduced. The story was finally resolved on lap 35, also with a pit stop in between, where the Brazilian went on to run second. At the front, Raikkonen finally took his first victory. The Finn crossed the finish line with 40 seconds to his nearest pursuer, Barrichello.
Alonso is not far behind. Although he was unable to challenge for victory, his historic pole position was rewarded with his first podium finish, the first for Renault since his return as a manufacturer. The Spaniard will have to wait until the Hungarian Grand Prix in August to go down in history by winning his first F-1 GP.
That day, the revolution in Formula 1 came at the hands of an ambitious and talented Asturian boy. Now, twenty years later, Fernando Alonso, a heavyweight in the F-1 World Championship, keeps people talking… Well, yes.
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.
