Top 5 Japanese Grand Prix races

#3 2006: El Nino clinches a dominant Suzuka drive

They call Fernando Alonso El Nino. But he's truly a samurai driver, one that on October 7 will contest in his final-ever Japanese Grand Prix.

While Alonso's last podium lies half a decade back in the past, a long time ago, he had stepped on the top of the podium in a year made truly spectacular by some ballsy driving in his Renault.

At the 2006 Japanese Grand Prix, the Renault, much slower and arguably, less competitive than the mean machines like Ferraris and Toyotas saw Alonso claim fifth in the qualifying while the pole went to Massa.

Alonso's struggles were amplified by the fact that he was around 5 seconds adrift of the race-leader, Schumacher, who had passed Massa, his teammate in the opening few minutes.

But from the onset of Lap 15, Alonso began making steady progress, moving ahead of Massa and closing the gap to Schumacher.

On Lap 27, steady in his pursuit of the track position-holder, Alonso closed the gap to Schumacher, bringing it down to just over 4 seconds, his Renault finally coming into its own against the dominant Ferrari.

Finally, as the saying goes that destiny favors the brave, post their second pit stops, Schumacher and Alonso, now on fresher rubber began the battle for first at the front which is when the German's engine failed. This gave the lead to Fernando Alonso, who wasn't going to back down. In the end, a charged up Spaniard exulted among stunned fans having driven beautifully throughout the Japanese track.

Edited by Raunak J