Unlike a lot of new-age drivers, Fernando Alonso has come into Formula 1 from a humble background. So much so, that the Spanish driver had to work as a mechanic in different teams to get money in his own races back when the Spaniard was only nine or ten years old, as revealed by Charlie Curtis and Co. in his Eff Won with DRS podcast recently.
Curtis, who was present in the podcast with his Dax Shepherd and Matthew Collins, said, “Even as a kid Alonso was like a mechanic for some of the other kids to make some extra money. So he kind of did that as little side hustle to make money on track.”
Throwback to 2001 and the new kid on the block at the Australian GP – went by the name Fernando Alonso #SkyF1 #F1 #AustralianGP #AusGP #Alonso #Minardi pic.twitter.com/vVgLu1kACm
— Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) August 15, 2018
Admittedly, Alonso‘s father, who comes from a modest background never had enough budget to fully support his son’s dreams. Jose Luis Alonso was a mine shaft explosives factory mechanic and therefore, he did not have tons of money to give little Alonso a cushion, monetarily.
Notably, money has always been an issue on the road to becoming an F1 driver. Despite this, the Spaniard has somehow managed to do it. One such example was Alonso could not afford to buy rain tires to race in the wt conditions. Therefore, he mastered racing in the go-kart with slicks, that too in rain. All these were the stepping stones of what Alonso is today.
Fernando Alonso, the rise of Spanish F1 champion
Fernando Alonso was a promising name in his young days and he did not disappoint as he rose through the ranks and now is a two-time world champion. He started his first race in go-kart at the age of seven. Following this, he won the 1988 and 1989 children’s junior championships of the Asturias and Galicia.
From there, he went karting under the local karting federation and rose to the CIK-FIA 5 Continents Junior Cup. His stellar rise continued and in 2002, he signed with Renault as their test driver. This was the start of Alonso in F1.
“What an incredible season. 12 months ago we’d have dreamed of being in this position. Have a good break and we come back stronger next year!”@alo_oficial | #AbuDhabiGP pic.twitter.com/4k4W7AFJDt
— Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant F1 Team (@AstonMartinF1) November 26, 2023
Soon after the 42-year-old became a force to reckon with in the sport and his rivalry with Michael Schumacher became a renowned one. In the end, Alonso was able to dethrone Schumacher to win back-to-back world championships in 2005 and 2006.
However, things didn’t turn out too well for the Spanish driver after this as he switched team after team [McLaren, Ferrari, McLaren, Alpine, and now Aston Martin.] but could not achieve greatness. Nevertheless, his recent 2023 F1 season with Aston Martin proved to be solace for Fernando Alonso after all.
