minardi story fernando alonso old young

Minardi: Unbelievable Alonso is still driving at the top in F1

minardi story fernando alonso old young

Giancarlo Minardi has known Fernando Alonso since the Aston Martin driver was 18 years old when the Spaniard burst onto the scene, now nearly a quarter century later – on the occasion of the great Spaniard’s 100th podium – the former Formula 1 team owner reflects on a remarkable journey.

Alonso’s shares have skyrocketed as for once he has his timing spot on, defecting from Alpine (team of his two titles) for one last hurrah with Aston Martin.

And what a curtain call it is turning out to be as Lawrence Stroll’s mega team found the ‘Magic Switch’ over the winter by turning the awkward and slow AMR22, into a sleek (only bettered by the Red Bull RB19) challenger that has seen Alonso claim two podiums in the first two races of the 2023 F1 season, and a contender for wins should the pace-setters tangle up.

RacingNews365 spoke to 75-year-old Minardi after Sunday’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix where his former driver: “My first experience with Fernando Alonso? Then he was only eighteen years old! By now he’s almost 42! Now we are talking about a man! Whereas back then he was just a boy.”

“There is little to say about him except that he does a great job. It is unprecedented that he has always been so motivated throughout his career. He chose the move to Aston Martin because he believed in the project and he is showing it right now.”

Minardi: Physically Fernando is still in top form

“You wouldn’t tell he’s almost 42. His overtaking during the Bahrain Grand Prix, on Lewis Hamilton, was amazing. I compare it to Gilles Villeneuve fighting with Rene Arnoux and Ayrton Senna along with Alain Prost.

“It was great to see how Alonso did that in Bahrain. A duel between two champions with a lot of respect for each other. You saw that in the fight as well.”

Alonso made his F1 debut for Minardi at the 2001 Australian Grand Prix at the age of 19, it proved to be a season of learning. Notably, on the grid that year was none other than Jos Verstappen, father of Max Verstappen!

Managed by Renault F1 team boss Flavio Briatore at the time, the Spaniard took a gap year in 2002, committed to an intensive testing program that saw him drive an equivalent of a Grand Prix season over the course of a week of testing. And he tested as much as he could, aka all the time available

Primed and fully prepped, with massive F1 mileage under his belt, Alonso suited up in Renault colours in 2003, finishing sixth in the F1 drivers standings that year, fourth in 2004 before bringing an end to Michael Schumacher’s five-year dominance for Ferrari to an end.

Alonso won his two F1 titles, back-to-back in 2005 and 2006, for Renault; although he never again attained those heights, but came very close with Ferrari in 2010, and was runner-up in 2012 and 2013 with the Reds.

A forgettable spell with a return to McLaren, the illustrious Woking outfit at their lowest point in history, meant half a decade of frustration and pain for Alonso who never had the car to compete with the front runners.

Minardi: Aston Martin has built a very good car

Alonso departed in 2018, spent two years in WEC, winning that title an the Le Mans 24 Hours to boot, with Toyota before he returned with Alpine for what many felt would be his last hurrah, but again his skills were unseen by the masses, as he toiled in the midfield.

Then that sudden hop, skip and jump to Aston Martin, who got their maths together with their 2023 car, allowing Alonso to show why he has for so long insisted he’s still in the best form of his life, but much wiser than ever before.

Minardi added: “Like everyone else, I can’t believe Alonso is still driving at the top in F1. When I first saw him in action at a young age, I knew immediately that he was going to be a big one in F1. He now has a good car in his hands again and can indeed go for many podiums this year, it seems now.

“During the first few weeks, it looked good and the team also got it right. Don’t forget that that team has already produced good results in its previous guises as Force India and Racing Point, and already finished fourth in the constructors’ championship once.

“So there is a good basis for this year. With [Lance] Stroll also getting good results after his bike accident, it shows that Aston Martin has built a very good car,” explained Minardi.

Aston are second in the 2023 F1 constructors’ standings after two rounds on 38 points, this time last year Lawrence Stroll’s team had yet to score a point.

Fernando Alonso’s 100 Podiums in Formula 1

RaceYearGrand PrixCircuitPos Team
1002023Saudi ArabiaDjeddah3Aston Martin
992023BahrainSakhir3Aston Martin
982021QatarLosail3Alpine
972014HungaryHungaroring2Ferrari
962014ChinaShanghai3Ferrari
952013BrazilInterlagos3Ferrari
942013SingaporeSingapour2Ferrari
932013ItalyMonza2Ferrari
922013BelgiumSpa2Ferrari
912013BritainSilverstone3Ferrari
902013CanadaMontréal2Ferrari
892013SpainBarcelone1Ferrari
882013ChinaShanghai1Ferrari
872013AustraliaMelbourne2Ferrari
862012BrazilInterlagos2Ferrari
852012USAAustin3Ferrari
842012Abu DhabiYas Marina2Ferrari
832012IndiaNew Delhi2Ferrari
822012South KoreaYeongam3Ferrari
812012SingaporeSingapour3Ferrari
802012ItalyMonza3Ferrari
792012GermanyHockenheim1Ferrari
782012BritainSilverstone2Ferrari
772012EuropeValencia1Ferrari
762012MonacoMonaco3Ferrari
752012SpainBarcelone2Ferrari
742012MalaysiaKuala Lumpur1Ferrari
732011Abu DhabiYas Marina2Ferrari
722011IndiaNew Delhi3Ferrari
712011JapanSuzuka2Ferrari
702011ItalyMonza3Ferrari
692011HungaryHungaroring3Ferrari
682011GermanyNürburgring2Ferrari
672011BritainSilverstone1Ferrari
662011EuropeValencia2Ferrari
652011MonacoMonaco2Ferrari
642011TurkeyIstanbul3Ferrari
632010BrazilInterlagos3Ferrari
622010South KoreaYeongam1Ferrari
612010JapanSuzuka3Ferrari
602010SingaporeSingapour1Ferrari
592010ItalyMonza1Ferrari
582010HungaryHungaroring2Ferrari
572010GermanyHockenheim1Ferrari
562010CanadaMontréal3Ferrari
552010SpainBarcelone2Ferrari
542010BahrainSakhir1Ferrari
532009SingaporeSingapour3Renault
522008BrazilInterlagos2Renault
512008JapanFuji1Renault
502008SingaporeSingapour1Renault
492007BrazilInterlagos3McLaren
482007ChinaShanghai2McLaren
472007BelgiumSpa3McLaren
462007ItalyMonza1McLaren
452007TurkeyIstanbul3McLaren
442007EuropeNürburgring1McLaren
432007BritainSilverstone2McLaren
422007USAIndianapolis2McLaren
412007MonacoMonaco1McLaren
402007SpainBarcelone3McLaren
392007MalaysiaKuala Lumpur1McLaren
382007AustraliaMelbourne2McLaren
372006BrazilInterlagos2Renault
362006JapanSuzuka1Renault
352006ChinaShanghai2Renault
342006TurkeyIstanbul2Renault
332006FranceMagny-Cours2Renault
322006CanadaMontréal1Renault
312006BritainSilverstone1Renault
302006MonacoMonaco1Renault
292006SpainBarcelone1Renault
282006EuropeNürburgring2Renault
272006San MarinoImola2Renault
262006AustraliaMelbourne1Renault
252006MalaysiaKuala Lumpur2Renault
242006BahrainSakhir1Renault
232005ChinaShanghai1Renault
222005JapanSuzuka3Renault
212005BrazilInterlagos3Renault
202005BelgiumSpa2Renault
192005ItalyMonza2Renault
182005TurkeyIstanbul2Renault
172005GermanyHockenheim1Renault
162005BritainSilverstone2Renault
152005FranceMagny-Cours1Renault
142005EuropeNürburgring1Renault
132005SpainBarcelone2Renault
122005San MarinoImola1Renault
112005BahrainSakhir1Renault
102005MalaysiaKuala Lumpur1Renault
92005AustraliaMelbourne3Renault
82004HungaryHungaroring3Renault
72004GermanyHockenheim3Renault
62004FranceMagny-Cours2Renault
52004AustraliaMelbourne3Renault
42003HungaryHungaroring1Renault
32003SpainBarcelone2Renault
22003BrazilInterlagos3Renault
12003MalaysiaKuala Lumpur3Renault