7 improbable podium finishes by Fernando Alonso

If there is one thing that distinguishes Fernando Alonso as a driver, it is his ability to achieve results that his car is sometimes not capable of.

Certainly, Valtteri Bottas’ puncture during the recent Qatar Grand Prix, or the virtual safety car that intervened in the same Grand Prix at the end of the race, gave Alonso a real boost to enable him to return to the podium. Nevertheless, Alonso’s race demands respect. The 14th number has done even better in the past though. Here are seven other podiums that Alonso has achieved, largely thanks to his immense talent.

Japanese Grand Prix 2005

The race, which took place in Suzuka in 2005, has become a classic in Formula 1 following Kimi Räikkönen’s victory, who overtook Giancarlo Fisichella on the last lap while starting only 17th. Another outstanding performance, however, was overshadowed that day: Fernando Alonso’s comeback.

In this season, the Spanish driver is living a dream within the Renault team, managed by Flavio Briatore. Michael Schumacher and Ferrari are in great difficulty following the new tyre regulations which require covering a whole Grand Prix with the same set of tyres. McLaren Mercedes, however, is formidable in 2005, but its almost non-existent reliability is ruining Räikkönen’s title hopes. Alonso, who does not suffer from any of these problems with his car, arrives in Japan for the penultimate race of the year, already crowned.

The Spaniard achieved his worst qualification of the season on Saturday and failed to rank better than sixteenth, falling victim to a downpour of rain. The next day, the newly crowned world champion gradually passed his opponents one by one, so much so that he was already in sixth position by the 17th lap, followed by Räikkönen.

Three laps later, Alonso performs one of his most beautiful maneuvers in F1 by overtaking Michael Schumacher on the outside at the challenging 130R corner. After his pit stop, the Renault driver drops down the hierarchy but he once again puts on a performance. He gets rid of Schumacher and then Jenson Button, and overtakes Mark Webber, four laps from the finish line, putting a wheel on the grass at nearly 300km/h at the beginning of the first corner. Alonso secures the third step of the podium, behind his rival Räikkönen and his teammate Giancarlo Fisichella.

Japanese Grand Prix 2008

Three years have passed and Fernando Alonso’s image, within the paddock and among the fans, has somewhat tarnished. Since 2005, the Spaniard has certainly become world champion again in 2006, but his duel, which turned into a nightmare, against young Hamilton in 2007 and his forced return to Renault have dented his reputation. Behind the wheel of his underperforming R28, Alonso does what he can until the miracle of the Singapore Grand Prix, the scandal of which will only be revealed a year later.

Arriving back in Japan, surrounded by his 20th victory, the double world champion qualifies in a surprising fourth place, a sign that Renault may have solved most of its problems. At no time is victory, not even the podium, considered and yet…

At the start, it’s the defending champion, Kimi Räikkönen, who gets the better of the pole-sitter, Lewis Hamilton. But eager to reclaim his lead, young Hamilton attempts a suicidal braking move on the Finn who avoids the maneuver. The two favorites for victory are now stuck in the pack while Alonso takes advantage of this start to be in second position behind Robert Kubica.

On the 18th lap, the Asturias Bull makes its first pit stop, two laps after Kubica’s. Renault’s strategy proves decisive and Alonso comes out ahead of the Pole’s BMW. “Nando” will never be worried about the race again. Behind the wheel of a car that is clearly inferior to its rivals, the current member of Alpine will achieve a real tour de force to secure the 35th and final victory for a Renault team in Formula 1. The Spaniard will celebrate his victory alongside Kubica and Räikkönen, who eventually climbed back to the podium.

Singapore Grand Prix 2009

A major regulatory change will upset the balance of power in 2009. The giants of the championship, McLaren, Ferrari, BMW, and Renault (which is the only team to have upgraded its engine during the offseason) are being dominated by Red Bull, Toyota, or the surprising BrawnGP.

Great teams now rely on their drivers to make the difference, like Lewis Hamilton at McLaren or Kimi Räikkönen at Ferrari. Fernando Alonso will sublimate his R29. Yet, upon arriving in Singapore, the 14th race of the championship, Renault has still not scored a single podium, as Alonso cannot compensate for the lack of pace of his car at this point.

On the Marina Bay circuit, Fernando settles in the 3rd row on Sunday after a successful qualification. From the start, the Renault driver takes 4th place before being passed by Timo Glock. However, the Spaniard carries a lot of fuel and will stop in the pits 10 laps later than his direct rivals.

Helped by a penalty affecting Nico Rosberg, Alonso will still display all his talent to lead his car, which normally had no reason to be so high in the hierarchy, to the podium.

Malaysian Grand Prix 2012

Having joined the Scuderia Ferrari in 2010, the Spanish driver two years later, had his worst car since the Renault R29. Arriving in Malaysia after an opening round in Melbourne that doesn’t bode well for the rest of the red team’s season, Alonso doesn’t expect anything from his F2012 at Sepang.

Initially qualified ninth, the Spaniard benefits from a penalty imposed on Räikkönen to start eighth. At the start, on a wet track, Alonso takes advantage of a collision between Romain Grosjean and Michael Schumacher to move up to fifth place before the race is neutralized a few laps later, under a red flag, as the rain has intensified.

At the restart, Alonso wastes no time in switching to intermediate tires and immediately regains the lead by overtaking Sergio Pérez, propelling him to the front of the race. A few laps from the end, the surprising Checo comes back like a rocket at the wheel of his Sauber but makes a mistake: Alonso’s victory is sealed. The Spaniard achieves his seventh victory with Ferrari and climbs to the top of the world championship, something unthinkable before the start of this Grand Prix.

Grand Prix of Europe 2012

The European Grand Prix, which took place in Valencia in 2012, may be to this day the most beautiful race of Fernando Alonso’s career.

The F2012 has evolved since Malaysia but it doesn’t hold up against Red Bull, McLaren, Mercedes, nor Lotus, only thanks to the Spaniard. In a crazy qualifying session where the top twelve cars are separated by less than three tenths, Alonso fails to qualify in eleventh position.

The race doesn’t bode well for the Scuderia, as the Valencia circuit has not been conducive to overtaking since it joined the calendar in 2008. However, the next day, the Ferrari driver is determined. Alonso gains three positions right from the start and throughout the race, climbs to an unbelievable second place, impressing everyone, especially after two spectacular maneuvers on Mark Webber and Romain Grosjean in the first corner.

In front, Sebastian Vettel’s alternator breaks down while he was in the lead. Romain Grosjean suffers the same fate and Lewis Hamilton holds off Räikkönen (who represents the ultimate threat to victory) long enough for Alonso to widen the gap.

The Spaniard triumphs in front of his home crowd, not without playing a trick on his teammate Felipe Massa, and is quickly overwhelmed with emotion. In front of an ecstatic crowd, Alonso, unable to hold back his tears, celebrates his victory alongside the two drivers who preceded him at Ferrari: Kimi Räikkönen and Michael Schumacher.

Belgian Grand Prix 2013

Despite a promising start to the campaign, Alonso scoring two victories in the first five races, Ferrari quickly loses ground to Red Bull, once again. Worse still, the Scuderia driver arrives in Spa also behind the Lotus of Räikkönen in the championship.

On Sunday, the Spaniard starts from a mediocre ninth place, but by the end of the first lap, he settles in fifth place after passing the Lotuses, Jenson Button’s McLaren, and Paul Di Resta’s Force India.

Alonso continues his performance by getting rid of the Mercedes and Mark Webber at the beginning of the race and settles in second place after the first tire changes. The leader of the red team will not leave this position and will finish his Grand Prix behind Sebastian Vettel, as often happened during his time at Ferrari.

Hungarian Grand Prix 2014

Some teams have struggled to adapt to the new V6 Turbo hybrid engines introduced in 2014.

During the offseason, Ferrari is still a dream. Alonso, disillusioned by the failures of the Scuderia, will have to manage, from now on, the presence of Kimi Räikkönen internally, the Finn being recruited, for the second time, by the prancing horse brand. The entire F1 community is ablaze: which of these two extraordinary champions will emerge victorious from this duel?

The Scuderia will quickly sweep away the hopes of specialists and fans, the F14-T being one of the worst Ferraris ever designed. Alonso struggles as best as he can while the 2007 world champion seems completely lost, with a few exceptions, at the wheel of this single-seater.

Upon arrival in Hungary, Ferrari seems to be in good shape during the free practice sessions, with both drivers managing to reach the top 3 several times. Unfortunately, the qualifying session did not yield the expected results. The strategists at Scuderia caused Räikkönen’s elimination in Q1, and although Alonso qualified in fifth place, he ultimately did not perform any better than usual.

On Sunday, however, Alonso will showcase all his talent. Fourth from the start, the Spaniard manages his race, held under changing conditions, with a masterful hand and finds himself leading fifteen laps before the end. Threatened by Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo and Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton, the Spaniard will only give in to the Australian and will secure a podium coming from nowhere (his second of the season) behind the wheel of a car not designed for such performances.

Who would have thought that we wouldn’t see “Papy Fernand” on a Formula 1 podium for seven long years?