Fernando Alonso - Biography

Fernando Alonso was born on 29 July 1981 in Oviedo, northern Spain. As a child he won four Spanish karting championships between 1993 and 1996, including the Junior World Cup and Spanish Karting Championships.  He continued to impress and won the Inter A Class Karting Championships in Spain and Italy. His exceptional talent was recognised in 1998 when he was given a test in a World Series by Nissan series car, lapping the Albacete circuit as quickly as Formula One drivers of the day. He was subsequently given a seat in the Euro Open MoviStar by Nissan series in 1999, and won the championship. In 2000 Fernando’s career grew closer to Formula One with a seat in a Formula 3000 car, where he won the Belgian Grand Prix.

Alonso started his Formula One career with Minardi in 2001 before moving to Renault in 2002. His first competitive start for the French outfit was in 2003 and his first win came only 13 races later, setting the record, at the time, for the youngest driver to win a Formula One Grand Prix. 2005 was the turning point for Fernando, as he took the Championship by 21 points and was crowned the FIA World Formula One Drivers’ Champion.

Fernando retained his title in 2006 by just 13 points and became the youngest double World Champion in Formula One history. After one year at McLaren, Fernando returned to Renault F1 Team and excelled in a car which tested his best abilities.

In 2010 Alonso joins Scuderia Ferrari, a combination he describes as a dream come true. His extensive knowledge and skill will be an asset to Shell’s technical partnership with Ferrari as development of fuels and lubricants continues to maximise race engine performance on Formula One circuits around the world.