Fernando Alonso’s greatest drives of his Formula 1 career

This weekend’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix will act as Fernando Alonso’s Formula 1 send-off as he calls time on his tenure in the sport.

With two world championship titles and 32 Grand Prix victories to his name, the 37-year-old Spaniard is considered one of greatest drivers of all time.

While Alonso is heading to Abu Dhabi with the mindset of his 312th Grand Prix start being his last, he has not ruled out a return at some point in the future.

Whether Alonso returns to F1 or not, the 2018 season finale will close out a 18-year chapter made up of stints at Minardi, Renault (twice), McLaren (twice) and Ferrari.

Alonso may have been unable to add to his achievements during a torrid four-year tenure with McLaren during the V6 hybrid era but he remains one of the sport’s biggest stars both on and off the track.

To mark what is expected to be his final competitive outing in F1 machinery, we count down some of Alonso’s greatest drives throughout his career.

Click below to find out our picks.

10 - 2006 Hungarian Grand Prix

The only race on this list Alonso failed to win, or even finish. Having received a penalty for dangerous driving during practice, the Renault driver’s weekend appeared to be in turmoil at a crucial stage of the season when he was coming under increasing pressure in the championship fight from Michael Schumacher.

Starting 15th, Alonso scythed through the field in mixed conditions, a charge highlighted by a brilliant pass around the outside of Schumacher’s Ferrari at Turn 5. Alonso found himself in the lead of the race when Kimi Raikkonen clashed with backmarker Vitantonio Liuzzi. Victory looked on the cards until a loose wheel nut resulted in Alonso spinning out of the race and into the barriers.

9 - 2007 Monaco Grand Prix

A race often attributed for causing the infamous breakdown in relationship between Alonso and McLaren amid controversy over the suspected use of team orders (illegal at the time), though the team was ultimately cleared of cheating.

Alonso had trailed hot-shot teammate Lewis Hamilton in practice but hit back to snatch pole position, before turning in a commanding drive to lead home a McLaren 1-2, with the team dominating proceedings throughout.

8 - 2010 Singapore Grand Prix

Alonso and Vettel went head-to-head in a thrilling and memorable race as the mesmerising 2010 title fight heated up under the lights in Singapore. After pipping Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel to pole by just 0.067s, the pair battled nose-to-tail throughout the 61-lap thriller.

Ferrari’s Alonso held off the faster Red Bull driver during a tense two-hour showdown and led every single lap as he took the chequered flag with a margin of just 0.293s splitting both drivers in one of the closest finishes in F1 history.

7 - 2003 Hungarian Grand Prix

Having spent 2002 as a test driver for Renault, Alonso moved into a full-time race seat for the following season and quickly established himself as one of the sport’s brightest stars in Renault’s much-improved R23. Alonso swept to his first F1 pole in Malaysia, though he had to until the 13th round of the season in Hungary before registering his maiden win.

The Spaniard claimed pole by a margin of nearly three tenths of a second, before going on to dominate race day to overhaul Bruce McLaren’s long-standing record of being the youngest driver to win a grand prix at just 22 years and 26 days.

Alonso finished over 16s clear of Raikkonen’s McLaren, while he put a lap on every driver outside of the top six, including reigning world champion Schumacher, who would wrap up the drivers’ title for the fourth time in a row later that year.

6 - 2008 Japanese Grand Prix

Alonso followed up on his controversial win in Singapore with his second victory of the 2008 campaign in Japan, though this one was fully-deserved. He rose from fourth on the grid and took advantage of the chaos that ensued after Hamilton overshot Turn 1 to settle into second place behind Robert Kubica.

A brilliantly executed strategy, instigated by an inspired call from Alonso, allowed him to claim the lead after he stopped one lap later than the BMW driver. Despite having less fuel onboard than the Pole in the middle phase of the race, Alonso managed to pull more than 12 seconds clear in a 25-lap stint to seal a superb win - his last for Renault.

5 - 2010 Italian Grand Prix

The Spaniard carried the hopes of the Monza crowd heading to the Italian Grand Prix, having already registered two wins for the Scuderia in his maiden campaign with the team. His popularity increased tenfold when he edged Jenson Button’s McLaren to pole.

Despite initially losing the lead to Button on the run to Turn 1, Alonso harried the Briton in the early stages and reclaimed first place by opting to stay out one lap longer than the McLaren driver. Alonso held on to beat Button across the line to delight the Tifiso and secure Ferrari’s first win on home soil since 2006.

4 - 2012 Malaysian Grand Prix

2012 was arguably one of, if not, Alonso’s strongest season of his career as he took Vettel all the way to the wire and missed out on a third title by just three points, despite his Ferrari lacking the outright performance of Vettel’s Red Bull for much of the year.

Ferrari looked well off the pace in Australia as Alonso could only manage fifth, but just seven days later he made the most of wet conditions in Malaysia to score a memorable victory from ninth on the grid. After a lengthy red flag delay due to the worsening conditions, Alonso emerged from the mayhem in the lead and held off the advances of Sauber’s Sergio Perez - who made a crucial error - to triumph.

3 - 2005 San Marino Grand Prix

A race that will be remembered for a thrilling tussle for the lead between title rivals Alonso and Schumacher in the final stages. Alonso had assumed the lead when polesitter Raikkonen dropped out, before a recovering Schumacher challenged him in the closing stages.

For the final 13 laps the pair diced, with Alonso turning in a defensive masterclass to keep the reigning world champion at bay. He crossed the line just 0.215s clear of the German to seal his third win from the opening four rounds to strengthen his early command at the top of the drivers’ standings.

2 - 2013 Spanish Grand Prix

Alonso’s 32nd and last victory in F1 will go down as one of his best. An epic start proved crucial en route to the win, as he passed Raikkonen and Hamilton around the outside of the fast sweeping Turn 3.

He then undercut Vettel’s Red Bull to move into second, before passing the Mercedes of Nico Rosberg into Turn 1 followed a period of sustained pressure. From there on in Alonso controlled the pace out front and remained unchallenged as he sealed his second victory in Spain.

1 - 2012 European Grand Prix

A race Alonso acknowledged as the best performance of his career and one that he probably would “never be able to win again even if I repeated [it] 100 times”. A strategical error on tyre selection left the Spaniard only 11th on the grid, though he made up early ground with a fast start that saw him launch up to eighth.

Nico Hulkenberg was soon picked off, while Raikkonen and Kamui Kobayashi were jumped by Alonso in the pit stops. Alonso’s progress through the order continued before a Safety Car period erased Vettel’s one-time healthy lead.

Alonso sailed past Romain Grosjean’s Lotus to take second when the race restarted and he moved into the lead when Vettel lost drive coming out of Turn 10. Alonso managed the gap to Raikkonen to claim an emotional win around the streets of Valencia, moving him into the lead of the championship.