Alonso: The victory in Hungary in 2003 changed everything for me

Fernando Alonso shared his memories that in his youth he could only dream of Formula 1, but that it seemed unattainable to him; about how his life changed when he achieved his first World Championship victory, and also spoke about the difficulties he has to overcome now, twenty years later.

Fernando Alonso: “In my youth, when I was into karting and loved it, I thought I would do it all my life because I wouldn’t be able to move on to formula racing. But then I got the chance to race in the Spanish Formula Nissan – it’s like F3.

Then I thought this would be the limit for me. I remember they told me that year that I had to leave karting to participate in Formula Nissan, but I said no.

I decided that I would compete in both categories and, in parallel with Formula Nissan, participate in the European and World Karting Championships. I didn’t want to give up karting, I thought this was my life and I still wouldn’t get into Formula 1.

You see, this was unrealistic for a racer from Spain who has no sponsors or financial resources…”

Alonso won the Formula Nissan title at the first attempt in 1999, the next season he moved to Formula 3000 and took 4th place, and already in 2001 he was invited to test at Minardi, the Formula 1 team.

But everything really changed for him in 2003, when he was already driving for Renault and achieved his first victory: winning the Hungarian Grand Prix.

“That victory in Hungary in 2003 changed everything for me,” continued the two-time world champion. – The team started to look at me with different eyes, but the attitude towards me changed in Formula 1 as a whole. Also in Spain, where F1 was not yet that popular at the time. But I think after that win, the interest of the television audience and sponsors grew, and I started acting in TV commercials.

In Spain at the time, my face was literally everywhere and I had to say goodbye to my private life because I became popular almost overnight. And this was the most important change in my life, not only professionally, but also personally.”

Twenty years have passed since that victory, but Fernando is not only still in the ranks, but continues to climb the podium, speaking for Aston Martin F1. He has already achieved this 8 times this year, including a week ago in Brazil.

For example, he talked about the main difficulties he had to overcome when he started working with the Silverstone team: “When you join a new team, there will always be difficulties. All teams have their own approach to car making, and this is especially reflected in the way the cockpit is organized.

The seating position, the position of the pedals and the handlebars, you have to adapt to this. When you join a new team you can’t change everything straight away, so you have to get used to all the procedures, starts and pit stops again. There are always things that teams do differently. The greatest difficulties for me were precisely related to this…’

Alonso is unlikely to exaggerate, although he has extensive experience of performing not only for different teams, but also in completely different categories of motorsport, including endurance racing and rally raids. But judging by the results he shows in 2023, Fernando is overcoming these difficulties very successfully.