What Fernando Alonso did after winning F1 championships with Renault that ‘surprised’ his engineers

Follow us on Google Discover

Fernando Alonso has been a significant part of Formula 1 for over 20 years and probably hasn’t quite achieved the credentials that his skills deserve.

His two world championships broke a spell of undisputed dominance from Michael Schumacher and Ferrari in the early 2000s which has been repeated only by Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton since.

He came agonisingly close to achieving a third title in a row in 2007, missed out in the finale in both 2010 and 2012, and has been a victim of his own poor decision-making ever since (in terms of team moves).

With a bit more luck, such as signing for Red Bull when they approached him ahead of the 2009 season, he may have ended up with more championships than anyone in the sport’s history.

Fernando Alonso ‘surprised’ Renault engineers with correction

Back in 2008, Alonso had just left McLaren after a turbulent season at a team he didn’t feel was giving him the right levels of support.

Landing back at Renault, who had dramatically fallen off a cliff since their championship-winning season in 2006, and their car just wasn’t the same beast it was before.

Renault engineer Phil Charles recalled to SoyMotor, how Alonso made a correction that helped to fix one of the car’s problems.

READ MORE: Ferrari accused by ‘paddock rumours’ of using illegal system during the Sao Paulo Grand Prix

“I was also with Fisichella. I’ve been on the opposite side of Fernando in more than one role as an engineer. He’s super focused, he’s an incredible talent and I think he surprises people regularly.

“One season, I think it was 2008, he got in the car for a first test and the car, as we call it, gave him a tailspin.

“At the time, nobody thought that would be good, but instantly, he corrected his driving to find something that would help the aerodynamicists modify the floor and surprised us all. From that point on, we looked at it and said ‘Wow, this is incredible’ and he kept doing it.”

How 2008 continued to get worse for Renault

After the first few tests in the 2008 car, the season didn’t go all too well for Alonso or Renault, who ended up taking two victories on their way to fifth place in the drivers’ standings.

A cry away from their previous successes, the Spaniard retired three times, including twice in races held in his home country that year.

By the end of the season, they had rebuilt some momentum, rounding out the season with six consecutive top-four finishes, but the technical regulations changed again for 2009 and the field was shaken up.

READ MORE: Gabriel Bortoleto gives the ‘perfect’ reason why Sauber didn’t announce him at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix

The following year, the ‘Crashgate scandal’ was uncovered and brought the team into a negative spotlight, before Alonso moved to Ferrari in 2010 to replace Kimi Raikkonen.

The two-year spell from 2008 to 2009 was a down period in his career, but even then, he still managed to impress his peers with his terrific skillset.