2005: Alonso’s first title in tyre-regulated season

In 2005, Fernando Alonso was entering his fourth year in F1. It was the then 23-year-old’s third season with Renault, and he went into the new year with a new team-mate, with Giancarlo Fisichella replacing Jarno Trulli. The latter finished the 2004 season for Toyota after a tumultuous fallout with then Renault team principal Flavio Briatore.

But with the new season, new promise entered the air, as FIA regulations introduced a ban on multi-set tyre changes within races. This shake-up banned tyre changes in the pits, meaning drivers had to go throughout qualifying and the entirety of the race on the same set of tyres. The change would go on to severely impact all teams, most significantly Ferrari, bringing a stop to the effectiveness of Ferrari’s Bridgestone tyres, which had been designed for quick, short stints. On the other hand, the changes did favour Renault’s more durable Michelin tyres.

Alonso’s season started with promise in Melbourne, finishing on the podium after having started a lowly 13th on the grid. His redemption in the race was made only sweeter for Renault, because team-mate Fisichella had won from pole, completing a near-perfect weekend for the team.

Alonso’s brilliant run continued with consecutive wins in the Malaysian, Bahrain and San Marino Grands Prix. The Spaniard’s success at Imola meant he also moved 16 points clear of second-placed Trulli’s – Alonso’s former team-mate. As for Fernando’s new team-mate, things had turned sour after Melbourne, retiring at all three races.

Alonso would go on to win one more race (the Grand Prix of Europe at the Nürburgring), before the infamous tyre fiasco of the United States Grand Prix. During the race weekend at Indianapolis, concern mounted as Ralf Schumacher suffered a terrible crash going through the high-speed turn 13, with his Michelin tyres failing.

Image: Paul-Henri Cahier/Getty Images

Following qualifying, Michelin ran tests which concluded that its tyres could not handle the punishing high-speed banked turn 13 – the estimation was that that the tyres would be at risk of failure after 10 laps. Both the supplier and teams petitioned for a chicane after turn 12, but the FIA refused. Ultimately, teams could not put their drivers at risk, and after the formation lap, all Michelin-supplied teams, including Renault, entered the pits, and only six drivers remained on the grid for the race start. Alonso admitted that he was instructed to match Kimi Räikkönen and “if he goes to the pitlane, you go to the pitlane.”

The culmination of Alonso’s first championship would come in Brazil. Having won two more races, in France and Germany, the Spaniard only needed a podium finish in Interlagos. He took pole and duly finished in third place, picking up the points he needed to be crowned the youngest World Drivers’ Champion in history. He went on to finish the season in style, winning once more in China to complete the season with seven wins and helping Renault to its first Constructors’ Championship title in the process.

 

2023: Sainz’s second success in Singapore

In a season filled with Red Bull dominance, largely courtesy of then World Drivers’ Champion Max Verstappen, the only win from any other team in 2023 came from the Scuderia. That came courtesy of Carlos Sainz, who took his second-ever win at the Singapore Grand Prix. Sainz, entering his third season at Ferrari, had previously won his maiden Grand Prix at Silverstone in 2022, placing the Ferrari F1-75 on pole and winning the Grand Prix after overtaking then team-mate Charles Leclerc on lap 43 after a safety car.

Ferrari finished the 2022 season second in the Constructors’ Championship. The aim, logically, was to go one better in 2023, with Leclerc going into the season stating, “the next step to improve is being a world champion, so this is still our target.” However, neither Sainz nor Leclerc were looking likely to deliver early on, with Leclerc having to wait for the fourth race of the season, the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, to post Ferrari’s first podium result for the year.

Sainz would go the majority of the season unable to finish on the podium, with his best finish coming in the first race of the season at the Bahrain Grand Prix. However, his fortunes would change going into the final 10 races of the. Sainz was fifth at Zandvoort, and heading into the following weekend at Monza, there was promise for the Scuderia going into their home race. So it proved in qualifying, with Sainz taking pole and Leclerc placed third. Sainz would finish third in the race, unable to hold out the two Red Bulls in the midst of what seemed to be a perfect season for Red Bull Racing.

It would become back-to-back poles for Sainz. With team-mate Leclerc third on the grid, this was a huge opportunity for Ferrari to win at Singapore and become the only team other than Red Bull to win a Grand Prix that season – especially as neither Red Bull driver had made it to Q3.

It turned out to be a chaotic night race, but thankfully for Sainz all the drama happened behind him. He led from start to finish,capitalising on every safety car with a perfect strategy from Ferrari’s engineers. The only scare for Sainz came in the final few laps, as former team-mate Lando Norris and both Mercedes’ drivers found themselves within striking distance of each other, but Sainz managed to hold on as Russell clipped the wall at turn 10 on the final lap. Following the race, the Spaniard would admit there was pressure, but that it “felt under control, I felt like I could manage well and we brought it home”.

 

2024: Sainz’s surgery comeback in Australia

After a disappointing season overall for Sainz and Ferrari in 2023, with the only silver lining being the aforementioned success at the Singapore Grand Prix, Sainz was entering his fourth and what would eventuate as his final season for the Scuderia. The Spaniard would leave the following season to drive for Williams as the Italian team announced the recruitment of seven-time World Drivers’ Champion Lewis Hamilton for 2025. The announcement was made on February 1, 2024.

For Sainz, it was a difficult predicament, racing a entire season knowing that no matter his performance, he was no longer wanted at Ferrari and would be at another team the following season. The Spaniard would go on to say that it “is not the most normal thing… but as soon as I put on my helmet in Bahrain and get on the track, you can be sure that I will only think about going as fast as possible.”

And when the Spaniard did get to Bahrain, he was able to demonstrate to his employer that maybe they’d made the wrong driver choice: in the race Sainz jumped team-mate Leclerc to get onto the podium.

Sainz’s podium was a sign of a potentially promising season. But that would all change heading to Jeddah for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix the following week. Sainz arrived feeling slightly under the weather but managed to push through all practice sessions throughout the day as he progressively felt worse. The next day, the Spaniard, now in a life-threatening condition, was rushed to hospital, where he was diagnosed with appendicitis and underwent emergency surgery to remove his appendix. Despite the delicate situation, Sainz managed to attend the Grand Prix and witness Charles Leclerc finish on the podium.

But the driver in Sainz, determined as ever, was laser-focused on competing, even questioning doctors prior to surgery about racing at Jeddah despite his health. After being very quickly talked out of the idea due to the severe nature of his condition, the Spaniard asked about Australia and was told recovery would take ‘about 10-14 days without physical exercise’.

Sainz would arrive in Australia still recovering from surgery, but impressively pushed Max Verstappen in qualifying, as Sainz finished second behind the Dutch driver. However, come Sunday, and things fell Sainz’s way. As early as lap five Verstappen had his right rear brakes fail, consequently forcing him to retire for the first time since Australia 2022. From that moment, Sainz looked to be in complete control, once again perfectly executing Ferrari’s strategy, as Charles Leclerc joined his team-mate on the podium in second, capping a perfect day for the Scuderia. In post-race celebrations, when asked about the weekend, Sainz replied: “It shows that the hard work pays off. And yeah, life sometimes is crazy, you know.”

The Spaniard would go on to win once more for Ferrari later in the season at Mexico, ending the season finishing fifth in the Drivers’ Championship, whilst also helping the Scuderia finish second in the Constructors’ Championship.