The 2024 Formula 1 season saw Fernando Alonso become the first driver in the sport’s history to pass 400 Grand Prix starts.
At last year’s Qatar Grand Prix, Aston Martin driver Fernando Alonso recorded a seventh-place finish, to take his career tally of points to 2,335.
When Alonso started his F1 career back in 2001, the idea of any driver passing 2,000 seemed extraordinary.
Seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher only reached 1,566 but such is Alonso’s longevity, he’s seen the points system in Formula 1 completely revolutionised in 2010.
By then, Alonso was already a two-time world champion having won titles in 2005 and 2006 with Renault.
The Spaniard looked like the natural successor to Schumacher, with the German retiring at the end of Alonso’s second championship year – only to return with Mercedes in 2010 for three more campaigns.
Unfortunately, Alonso’s run of title wins ended there and despite coming close on multiple occasions, he’s failed to add to his collection.
Karun Chandhok was speaking on the Bring Back V10s Podcast, via The Race Members’ Club has been talking about Alonso’s career.
He admitted that the 43-year-old should have at least three or four championships under his belt as he prepares for his 22nd season in Formula 1.
Karun Chandhok believes that Fernando Alonso should be a five-time F1 champion
Chandhok was speaking about Sebastian Vettel’s first Formula 1 win in 2008 with Toro Rosso and how the only current drivers who are still active from that race are Lewis Hamilton and Alonso.
Asked whether he would have believed that Alonso would still be racing in F1 in 2025, he said: “I could imagine him having a very long career, maybe not into his 40s, but certainly up to at least 40 because I think Fernando loves motorsport.
“He loves going off and doing Dakar, Le Mans and all this kind of stuff but fundamentally his life revolves around driving around in circles.
“He spends his weeks driving his go-karts, so, I think I absolutely expected him to carry on until then.
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“I did expect him to win more championships if I’m honest! If you look at what he’d done up until that point, 2005, 2006 world champion, within a point of winning it in 2007.
“The Renault wasn’t great in 2008, but he was still hauling it around and delivering results.
“And if you look at the subsequent times, what’s the stat, I think he’s within eight points of being a five-time world champion, Fernando, if you take 2010 and 2012 on top of 2007.
“I would have expected him to have been a multiple world champion more times over than the two he got.”
| Season | Points | Difference | Champion |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | 109 | 1 point | Kimi Raikkonen |
| 2010 | 252 | 4 points | Sebastian Vettel |
| 2012 | 278 | 3 points | Sebastian Vettel |
Fernando Alonso pinning his championship hopes of Aston Martin for 2025 and beyond
Considering that Alonso would have gone 12 years without a Formula 1 race victory by the time he reaches this year’s Spanish Grand Prix unless something miraculous happens at the start of this season, it’s hard to see him ending his long wait for a title in 2025.
However, he will be pinning all of his hopes on Formula 1’s upcoming regulation change in 2026.
Aston Martin have employed several key members of backroom staff – including Adrian Newey, Enrico Cardile and Andy Cowell – to help their title bid going into next year.
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With so many changes coming, Aston Martin will hope that their new state-of-the-art factory and their exclusive partnership with power unit supplier Honda will give them an advantage over their rivals.
People within F1 are backing Aston Martin to lead the way in 2026, but there’s a long way to go before that potentially becomes a reality,
Alonso will back himself to beat current teammate Lance Stroll if Aston Martin do have the fastest car, but as has been the case so often during his career, it wouldn’t be a surprise if he was once again pipped to the post by one of his rivals.
