Spanish Formula 1 legend Fernando Alonso’s name has been a buzzword among F1 fans since his debut in the 2001 Australian GP. He has also driven for teams like Renault, Alpine, Ferrari, McLaren, and Minardi. What’s more? He’s driven in the 24 hours of Le Mans for Toyota and won it in 2018 and 2019 when he was on a ‘sabbatical’ from Formula One in the guise of retirement.
In 2003, the Spaniard began to show his true potential and won his first world championship in 2005, becoming the youngest driver to do so. He repeated this achievement in 2006. Alonso joined McLaren in 2007 but left after one season due to clashes with his teammate Lewis Hamilton.
He returned to Renault for two years before moving to Ferrari in 2010, where he stayed for five seasons, finishing as the championship runner-up in 2012 and 2013. Alonso returned to McLaren in 2015 and participated in other racing series such as the Indy 500 and the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
He’s back!#F1 @alo_oficial pic.twitter.com/FhDeKBsgwl
— Formula 1 (@F1) July 8, 2020
He announced his return to Formula One with Renault (now Alpine) for the 2021 season, where he had a strong season and finished fifth at the Hungarian Grand Prix. At the end of the 2021 season, Alonso announced that he had signed a new contract with Alpine to race in F1 for at least another year in 2022. Throughout his career, Alonso has demonstrated his skill and determination, consistently outperforming his cars despite challenging circumstances.
Fernando Alonso’s salary and net worth
Fernando Alonso is one of the wealthiest F1 drivers and has accumulated about $260 million in net worth. The 41-year-old will earn a salary of $5 million which is $3 million more than his teammate, Stroll. He earned about $20 million at Alpine last year under Otmar Szafnauer.
He was consistently one of the highest-paid drivers on the grid until the 2022 season. Alonso earned a whopping $40 million in 2016 and 2017 at McLaren.
🚨 | Alpine reportedly offered Fernando Alonso a salary reduction when trying to convince him to sign a contract extension:https://t.co/rWdoVL2QzP
— F24 (@Formula24hrs) August 4, 2022
He earned a gross of $173,444,875 at McLaren over the period of 5 seasons and $178,400,000 at Ferrari over the period of 5 years too. However, prime Fernando Alonso at Renault earned a sum of $50 Million over the 3 seasons he was there.
Fernando Alonso’s sponsorships and endorsements
The F1 driver started his entrepreneurial venture in March of 2017 with his fashion line, Kimoa, which he sports often in the paddock and outside it. The brand makes fashion accessories like sunglasses and caps and he is said to have started Kimoa along with his friends.
He was sponsored by Citibank back in 2018 at the 24 Hours of Daytona Series. He is also associated with brands and conglomerates like Adidas, TAG Heuer, and Santander among many others.
He started his eSports team with the computing hardware brand, Logitech. He ranked 39th on the list of Forbes’s highest-paid athletes back in 2018. All in all, Alonso has been one of the most influential drivers on the grid throughout his career.
Fernando Alonso in 2023 and expectations
After the transfer fiasco midway through the 2022 session, the 2X WDC winner found himself signed to Aston Martin F1 Cognizant Racing Team after the retirement of Sebastian Vettel from F1. He will be driving this season alongside Lance Stroll in a massively improved AMR23.
🏁 END OF FP3 🏁
— Formula 1 (@F1) March 4, 2023
Fernando Alonso fastest before qualifying #BahrainGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/H6TBapuRgT
In the Bahrain GP Final Practice 3, Alonso was on top of the grid with a massively improved but in no way the best car. He outperformed his ex-teammate and 7X WDC champion Lewis Hamilton in qualifying, clocking in at 5th after the 2022 champions at Red Bull and runners-up at Ferrari.
“This is just an unbelievable result and car that we are driving at the moment,” said the Spaniard.
The future looks bright for Aston Martin and Alonso, with a completely redesigned AMR23, it looks like it was a wise decision so far for him to leave the French constructor for the British one. Alpine seems to be struggling with their all-French driver lineup, and it seems like Aston Martin may finally not only join the mid-table race but finally claim the spot of being best of the rest at 4th place.
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