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Two-time world champion Fernando Alonso is definitely one of the greatest F1 drivers of all time and one of the best of his generation. Although he has won only 2 Championships and not a single one since 2006, he is still highly rated even today as he finishes his hugely impressive Formula One career.
For a large part of his career, he never was blessed with a Championship winning car but still used his limited resources and managed to win 2 World Championships ending Schumacher and Ferrari's dominance in 2005. Along with Flavio Briatore, Alonso formed a highly successful partnership at Renault. Some of his races during his time at Ferrari and Mclaren were simply superb.
Though Alonso won't be competing in the 2019 F1 Season as he pursues other interests at the Indy 500 and the World Endurance Championship, he has left the window open for a return to Formula One in 2020 or beyond. We take a look at 4 of Alonso's most memorable race wins
#4 Malaysian Grand Prix 2012
The 2012 Formula One season was historic in many ways with 6 current or former World Champions participating. This meant that the longstanding record of 5 Champions competing in 1970 was finally broken.
The Australian Grand Prix was the first race of the season and uncharacteristically Ferrari did not manage a single podium finish. The second round was held in Sepang, Malaysia. Alonso started from 9th on the grid.
Considering Ferrari's disastrous start, few would have thought that Alonso can get anything meaningful out of this race. The rain-marred race saw multiple Safety Car deployments. Alonso capitalized on the errors made by the other drivers to take the race lead in the last few laps.
A fighting Fernando Alonso took the chequered flag against all odds and the championship lead in the ensuing process.
#3 San Marino Grand Prix 2005
It was in 2005 that Alonso and Renault checked all boxes to stop the Schumacher-Ferrari juggernaut helping Alonso win his first World Championship and one of his best ever races came at the San Marino Grand Prix that year.
Starting behind Kimi Raikkonen in second place on the grid, Alonso rode his luck as Raikkonen retired due to an engine issue despite building a considerable lead.
Kimi's premature retirement meant that Alonso took the lead and he was unchallenged for 50 laps until the second round of pitstops when Schumacher emerged 2nd from 13th on the grid. Ferrari with the fresher tyres was certainly faster and with 12 laps remaining, it was looking increasingly difficult for Alonso to dodge the 7-time defending World Champion.
Schumacher tried everything in his playbook to overtake Alonso. Alonso faced a barrage of attacking manoeuvres from Schumacher but remarkably held on to win the race. He would then go on to win his maiden World Championship.
#3 Italian Grand Prix, Monza, 2007
Fernando Alonso came into the race at Monza trailing Lewis Hamilton and Kimi Raikkonen in the Driver's Standings. It was Round 13th of the season.
Alonso having made the switch to Mclaren in 2007 after winning back-to-back championships with Renault was looking for a hat-trick of World Championship wins. The season began on a strong note for him with two wins at Malaysia and Monaco.
From then on, things weren't all that smooth as his relationship with fellow McLaren driver Hamilton soured so did his equation with team boss Ron Dennis. It was thus imperative for Alonso to come up with a strong showing to keep himself with the pack of drivers ahead of him namely Hamilton and Raikkonen.
Alonso delivered and in some style, topping all the qualifying sessions, and won the race in spectacular fashion grabbing the pole position, chequered flag and the fastest lap. His win meant that he overtook his 2 nearest rivals to lead the Drivers' Championship.
#4 European Grand Prix at Valencia, 2012
The 2012 Formula One Championship was hotly contested with a record 7 different drivers winning the first 7 races. Valencia was the venue of the 8th round of the season. Sebastian Vettel was the pole-sitter for Red Bull while Alonso started from 11th on the grid.
Sebastian Vettel was widely expected to clinch victory but things didn't pan out as he would have liked. Alonso had a terrific start as he swiftly gained 3 positions. What followed was a spree of successful overtaking ventures as he climbed to 4th.
Deployment of the Safety Car enabled Alonso to enter into the podium positions at 3rd. Soon after the race restart, Alonso made easy work of overtaking Romain Grosjean. The very same lap Vettel's car began to face some engine issues as Alonso took the lead. The crowd went into raptures as their own countryman had taken over the race lead.
Alonso remarkably took the chequered flag starting from 11th on the grid and has on numerous occasions described the race as his 'best ever'.
