Fernando Alonso was once left furious when one F1 teammate finished on the podium ahead of him

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It’s pretty well known that Fernando Alonso is a merciless operator. It’s a big reason why he has survived for so long in Formula 1.

It’s likely that he will just fall short of 500 races entered before he retires (which is a mighty statistic), but even 15 years ago, that sort of feat was unheard of. Getting to 300 was an incredible achievement.

His glory years were spent at Renault, where he won the drivers’ championship in both 2005 and 2006, beating the formidable Ferrari and Michael Schumacher.

Nowadays, Alonso is still trying to achieve by far the biggest gap between titles won, and the 2026 F1 regulations may offer him a chance to get back to the front.

Change my mind: Fernando Alonso is going to finish his F1 career without winning another race

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Alonso’s ‘political ambitions’ have affected his F1 title chances through the years, according to 1996 champion Damon Hill.

Lawrence Stroll has identified his Alonso replacement in the event that he decides to retire after the 2026 campaign. A lot hinges on whether he has a competitive car over the next 12 months.

READ MORE: McLaren warned about repeating Fernando Alonso mistake that could see Oscar Piastri leave

Fernando Alonso wasn’t happy after Nelson Piquet Jr beat him to a podium at Renault

Alonso should know what to expect from Honda when they supply Aston Martin with engines for the first time this year. In 2015, with McLaren, they had a bit of a disaster.

In general, the Spaniard doesn’t really like losing. That was highlighted by his response to being beaten to the podium by Nelson Piquet Jr at the 2008 German Grand Prix.

“I remember, I think when we had a one-two finish in Malaysia, because I think Fisi [Giancarlo Fisichella] won it, and Fernando second,” Ayao Komatsu said on the High Performance Podcast. “I don’t think he was happy because he didn’t win.

“But back then, Enstone was all about Fernando. He was the main driver, rightly so. Just finishing second behind his teammate, he wasn’t happy.

“I remember like also later on, much later on, not the same year, I can’t remember the year, but I was on Nelson Piquet Jr’s car,” he continued.

“I think we got [a] podium in Hockenheim [2008], in a certain specific scenario, because I think to do with Safety Cars etc. I can’t remember the details. Anyway, so Nelson finished ahead of Fernando, Fernando wasn’t happy again.”

READ MORE: David Coulthard says Fernando Alonso leaves every F1 team in worse shape when he departs

Why Fernando Alonso can be excited about the 2026 F1 season

Looking ahead to pre-season testing, which kicks off in just a few days, Alonso does have a few reasons to be excited.

For the first time in his career, he’s about to get behind the wheel of an Adrian Newey-designed car. Knowing how much success he’s had, that’s exciting.

He’s at his most creative at the start of a regulation cycle, which allows him to really get to work building a car with strengths that his competitors won’t be able to match.

Alonso won’t need the fastest engine to compete, he’ll simply need a car that can get to the chequered flag, and his attacking skillset should take care of the rest.