Fernando Alonso recalls the mindset shift he needed to make to win his first F1 championship

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Fernando Alonso became Formula 1’s youngest champion with his maiden title feat in 2005, and the Spaniard has recently recalled what it took for him to etch his name in motorsports history.

The 33-year-old record that Emerson Fittipaldi had held since 1972 was smashed upon Fernando Alonso’s third-place finish at the 2005 Brazilian Grand Prix, which secured his first of two consecutive titles with Renault.

Alonso considered Michael Schumacher as his biggest rival during the early days of his F1 career, but it was Kimi Raikkonen who took the Spaniard into the latter stages of the 2005 title fight.

In the end, Alonso reigned supreme over the Finn, winning the title with two rounds remaining and an overall advantage of 21 points in the drivers’ championship.

The maiden title feat came in only his fourth season of racing in the category, with the two seasons prior serving as years where Alonso could hone his craft after cementing himself as a bright star for the future of F1.

• READ MORE: Flavio Briatore hits out at the ‘rubbish’ way the F1 media talk about ‘rottweiler’ Fernando Alonso

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Fernando Alonso recalls the mentality shift he ‘arrived with’ at the start of the 2005 F1 season

During a new DAZN documentary that details the Spaniard’s maiden championship-winning term in Formula 1, Alonso recalled how the 2005 term signified a shift in the expectations that Renault had for him.

The current Aston Martin driver said, “It was the first year of my career in which I arrived at each Grand Prix with the pressure of getting a result.

“I went race by race, trying to do my best, but in 2005, I arrived with a specific goal; for the first time, I was in championship mode.”

Alonso’s team principal at the French racing outfit that year, Flavio Briatore, was also a contributor to the documentary, and the Italian noted the impact that the Spaniard’s maiden title victory had on his standing within the Iberian country.

He recalled, “In 2005, we not only won a World Championship, but we also introduced Formula 1 to Spain. It was the moment when everyone truly got to know Fernando Alonso.

“Not just because he won the World Championship, but because of how he won it; we did it with authority.”

Some incredible drives marked Alonso’s first title-winning campaign, and it also signified a changing of the guard following Schumacher’s chokehold on the sport with Ferrari.

The then-Renault driver’s heroics around the German legend at 130R in Suzuka is probably the most well-known move of the season, as well as his defensive masterclass against Schumacher at the San Marino Grand Prix earlier in the year.

• READ MORE: Franco Colapinto has already done one thing that reminds Flavio Briatore of prime Fernando Alonso

Fernando Alonso is hoping to secure his elusive third F1 title in 2026 with Aston Martin

The most fascinating detail of Alonso’s 22-year career in Formula 1 is the number of titles he has to his name compared to what was forecast for him after his opening years of brilliance.

A third world title has eluded the Spaniard since his most recent feat in 2006, despite being extremely close to it on several different occasions.

With F1’s new era of regulations now upon us, it is clear that Alonso sees the upcoming season as one of his final chances at being able to add another title to his collection.

Now racing for an Aston Martin outfit that has plenty of successful names within the ranks at the team, Adrian Newey could hold the key to fans seeing the 44-year-old return to the top step of the podium for the first time since 2013.

During the 2025 season, Alonso noted that he is considering retirement if the Silverstone-based racing team can provide him with a car worthy of winning a championship next season.

The verdict may seem contradictory, given that he could go on to win a championship in the future even if he isn’t successful next year, but the 44-year-old also needs to know whether he is still capable of another strenuous title fight.