Last Updated on August 10, 2023 by Vishnu Nambiar
I’m an avid F1 fan. It is my favorite sport. And my favorite sportsperson is an F1 race driver. He is none other than the Spanish legend Fernando Alonso. This essay is dedicated to Fernando. Here, I’ve covered a brief outline of his career, his accomplishments, his qualities, reasons why I love him, and more.
Being from Spain, I was involved in different sports since childhood. As a child, I used to play football, basketball, volleyball, etc. I’m a huge fan of football. But my favorite sport is Formula 1. Formula 1 is the most demanding and competitive motorsport event in the world.
Only ten teams compete for the title. And each team has a roster of two drivers. In short, at the highest level (F1), only twenty driver slots are available. It indicates how talented an F1 driver has to be. Getting a driver’s slot and staying in the top slot for a long time is an incredible feat. And Fernando Alonso has achieved this feat in style.
Even at the age of thirty-nine, he is rocking it out on the circuit! In order to become an F1 driver, one must do particularly well in the lower-ranked circuits (F2, continental competitions, regional competitions, etc). And one must also possess qualities such as – good reflexes, stamina, strength, fitness, driving skills, tactical awareness, instincts, intuition, determination, etc.
As someone who has shined at the highest level for such a long time, it is safe to say that Fernando Alonso has all of these qualities. His F1 trophy cabinet includes – two World Drivers’ Championships (with Renault) and many podium finishes with the likes of Renault, McLaren, Ferrari, and Minardi.
He has also won the 24 Hours of Le Mans title twice (with Toyota). These accomplishments indicate how good a driver he actually is. Okay, let us talk about his early life and career now. He was born in Oviedo.
Born into a middle-class working family, young Fernando was drawn to the world of motor racing. As a natural step, he took an interest in karting. He took part in local karting tournaments and won many prizes for the same. This motivated him and his family. Later, he took part in national and international karting events. At national and international events too, he won many titles.
Alonso’s father is a former amateur kart driver. It is safe to say that his father played a crucial role in drawing young Fernando’s attention towards karting!
Let us talk about his F1 career now. Fernando Alonso began his F1 career with the Minardi F1 team. At Minardi, he had an incompetent car. The following season, he became a test driver for the Renault F1 team. And in the following season, joined the Renault F1 team as a driver.
You may also check – Essay on Lewis Hamilton
In 2005 and 2006, he won the World Drivers’ Championship with Renault. And following his consecutive driver’s championship titles, he decided to join the McLaren team. He spent a year at McLaren and secured third place in the drivers’ championship.
After leaving McLaren, he rejoined the Renault F1 team and stayed there for another two years. In 2010, he joined the Scuderia Ferrari team. He had a decent stint at Ferrari that lasted for 5 years. During that stint, he vied for the driver’s title (unsuccessfully) with Sebastian Vettel.
After leaving Scuderia Ferrari, he rejoined the McLaren team. As of now, he is racing for the Alpine team in F1. Having won the driver’s championship twice, Fernando is a legend. He is one of the best F1 drivers of modern times.
He is well known for taking the car to its limits. He is a fearless driver who can extract the most out of a car. He knows very well about the limitations (his as well as the car’s). This gives him the special ability to take the car to its limit and stop once it reaches that limit.
Since he is capable of extracting something extra out of a car, he performs decently even with mid-table cars and teams. Even at thirty-nine years of age, he is driving the Alpine car, taking it to its limits and securing valuable points for this team in the process.
I am Vishnu Nambiar a career and educational blogger from India. I am also a full time educational consultant having more than 12 years of experience in the educational sector.
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