Today it is happy birthday to Spanish racing driver Fernando Alonso (1981-).
Respected and well-liked by his competitors and fans, Alonso was the first driver to win back-to-back championships before his 26th birthday. Born in Oviedo, Spain, Fernando Alonso Diaz was just three when he first jumped behind the wheel of a kart. His father, a mechanic who was an amateur kart racer himself, backed his boy to join karting competitions around Spain. Alonso soon attracted generous sponsorships to help fund his promising career in motorsport and backed that support up with phenomenal success, claiming numerous victories including four backto-back junior Spanish championships between 1993 and 1996. He switched to racing cars at 17 and was given a Formula One start just two years later by Australian outfit Minardi. Alonso's obvious talent earned him a test drive with the powerful Renault team a year later. In his second start for Renault, he became the youngest driver to qualify on pole position at the 2003 Malaysian Grand Prix, pre-empting his first win and four podium finishes later that season. After finishing fourth in the 2004 championship, the Spaniard won back-to-back titles in 2005 and 2006. Alonso made a risky but financially lucrative switch to McLaren in 2007, finishing third in the title race. A return to Renault in 2008 was less successful and short-lived and Alonso was at legendary Italian manufacturer Ferrari at the end of 2009. He was pipped for the title each year by Sebastian Vettel and left in 2014. He has spent the past two years further down the grid, racing with sub-standard McLaren Honda.