Fernando Alonso set for F1 history at Singapore GP

Fernando Alonso will set a new record for Formula 1 starts this afternoon at the Singapore Grand Prix, with him moving to 350.

The Spaniard’s legacy and reputation in the sport as one of the greats is already assured but you won’t find him taking his foot off of the gas just yet, as he sets a new record for the most F1 starts in the sport’s history, ahead of Kimi Raikkonen.

Alonso joined the grid in 2001 and drove for Minardi, before spending a year as a test driver for Renault.

In 2003 he’d be back, though, and secured his first win of his career at the Hungarian Grand Prix, which would be the start of a real rise to the very top of the sport.

Whilst 2004 saw Ferrari dominate, 2005 saw a changing of the guard as Alonso took his first world title after a great fight with the aforementioned Raikkonen.

In 2006, he doubled up after another enthralling duel, this time with Michael Schumacher, highlighting Alonso’s quality under pressure against some of the very best drivers around.

The Spaniard would move to McLaren in 2007 and narrowly missed out on another championship, with inter-team squabbling against Lewis Hamilton opening the door for Raikkonen to notch his maiden world title, with Alonso then heading back to Renault for 2008, though they were not the force they were when he had left.

A spell at Ferrari between 2010 and 2014 saw him twice more go very close to the championship but he was pipped on both occasions by Sebastian Vettel, before heading back to McLaren for a below-par spell as the team’s link-up with Honda failed to ignite.

Alonso left F1 at the end of 2018 but it was apparent the door was left open for him to return at some point, which he did at the start of the 2021 campaign with Alpine.

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