Formula 1: Two-time champion Fernando Alonso retires

Two-time Formula 1 champion Fernando Alonso has officially retired from Formula 1 following a highly successful 17-year career in the sport.

Now that the checkered flag has flown to conclude the 21st and final race, the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, of the 2018 Formula 1 season, two-time Formula 1 champion Fernando Alonso is officially an ex-Formula 1 driver, as he has retired following a highly successful 17-year career in the sport just like he said he would back in mid-August.

The 37-year-old Spaniard is set to be replaced by fellow Spaniard Carlos Sainz Jr., the 23-year-old Renault Sport driver, next season.

Alonso retires from Formula 1 having competed full-time in the sport in every season since the 2001 season except for the 2002 season. In 17 seasons, he competed in 312 races and racked up 32 victories, 97 podium finishes and 22 pole positions.

Alonso’s career victory total ranks sixth on the all-time wins list behind only the career victories totals of Michael Schumacher (91), Lewis Hamilton (73), Sebastian Vettel (52), Alain Prost (51) and Ayrton Senna (41).

His career podium finish total also ranks sixth on the all-time podiums list behind only the career podium finish totals of Schumacher (155), Hamilton (134), Vettel (111), Prost (106) and Kimi Raikkonen (103).

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Alonso’s Formula 1 career began in the 2001 season when he drove for Minardi. Before the 2003 season, he signed with Renault, and he earned his first career Formula 1 victory in the 2003 Hungarian Grand Prix driving for the team.

Alonso drove for Renault from the 2003 season through the 2006 season before leaving to drive for McLaren in the 2007 season. In his four seasons driving for the French team, he racked up 15 victories. He won the championships in the 2005 and 2006 seasons and recorded a career-high seven victories in both seasons.

After driving for McLaren in the 2007 season, Alonso returned to Renault for the 2008 and 2009 seasons. He then signed with Scuderia Ferrari ahead of the 2010 season, and he continued driving for the team through the 2014 season before signing a contract to return to McLaren. He spent each of his final four seasons in Formula 1 driving for the Woking-based team.

Alonso’s future plans include continuing to compete in the World Endurance Championship, which he began competing in this year. As a two-time Monaco Grand Prix winner, his victory in this year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans means he only needs to win the Indianapolis 500 to become just the second driver to win all three races of the Triple Crown of Motorsport. The only driver who has ever done so is Graham Hill.

Alonso competed and had success in his first career Indy 500 attempt last year before an engine failure late in the race ruined his chances of winning it. But he is set to return to the “Greatest Spectacle in Racing” next year in an attempt to join Hill as a winner of all three races of the Triple Crown of Motorsport.

He is also set to participate in a seat swap with seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson tomorrow at Bahrain International Circuit. He is set to drive the #48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet while Johnson is set to drive his Renault-powered McLaren.

We wish Fernando Alonso all the best in his future racing endeavors, and we congratulate him on having one of the greatest Formula 1 careers in the history of the sport. Thank you, Fernando.