Fernando Alonso

Fernando Alonso Díaz was born on July 29, 1981, in Oviedo, the capital of the autonomous region of Asturias in Spain. He began his racing journey at an extraordinarily young age, starting in karting when he was just 3 years old.

Alonso's karting career was marked by exceptional success from an early age. He dominated Spanish karting, winning three consecutive national karting championships from 1994 to 1997. His talent reached international recognition in 1996 when he became world karting champion, establishing himself as a rising star in motorsport.

Alonso made his Formula One debut in 2001 with Minardi before moving to Renault as a test driver in 2002. Promoted to a race seat with Renault in 2003, he quickly made his mark by becoming the youngest driver to qualify on pole position and win a Grand Prix at the 2003 Malaysian and Hungarian Grands Prix respectively.

His breakthrough came with back-to-back World Championships in 2005 and 2006 with Renault, making him the youngest Formula One World Drivers' Champion at 24 years and 58 days, and subsequently the youngest double champion. His career has seen him race for the sport's most prestigious teams across 17 seasons.

A stint at McLaren in 2007 was followed by a return to Renault for 2008-2009, before joining Scuderia Ferrari for five seasons (2010-2014). During his Ferrari years, he came agonizingly close to additional championships, finishing second three times behind Sebastian Vettel in 2010, 2012, and 2013, with two of those titles decided at the final race. He won 11 Grands Prix during this period before returning to McLaren from 2015-2018.

Beyond Formula One, Alonso has pursued the Triple Crown of Motorsport with notable success. He won the 2018 24 Hours of Le Mans on his first attempt with co-drivers Kazuki Nakajima and Sébastien Buemi while leading the 2018-19 FIA World Endurance Championship with Toyota Gazoo Racing. He also contested the 2017 Indianapolis 500 and the 2018 24 Hours of Daytona.

Known by the nickname 'El Nano,' a typical pseudonym for Fernando in his native Asturias, Alonso is actively involved in charitable work as a Goodwill Ambassador for UNICEF.