Fernando Alonso has a very impressive racing history, taking the Spanish Karting title at the age of 13. His determination to succeed only increased after taking this sweet victory and two years later he took the title again as well as becoming the World Karting Champion.

Alonso's achievements speak for themselves. His third Spanish Karting title came in 1997, making it three in four years. Form there he was runner up in the European Kart championship before taking the Euro Open Championship for Nissan in 1999.

In 2000 Fernando undertook testing duties for the Minardi outfit while competing in the Formula 3000 Championship catching the attention of high profile teams such as Ferrari and Benetton. He competed for Astromega and his season highlights included a sixth in Austria, second Hungary, and a win in Belgium leaving him sixth overall in the standings.

He progressed to the pinnacle of Motorsports in 2001 where he partnered Tarso Marques for the European Minardi team. Some impressive performances followed but he opted to sit out active competition in 2002 and concentrate on testing duties for Renault.

Following his season testing with Renault, Alonso got his big chance a year later making his debut with the team as a race driver and taking his first win in Formula One at the Hungarian Grand Prix just a few month later and finishing a strong sixth in the drivers' standings.

2004 started well enough with third position in Australia but Alonso then had to wait until mid-season to gain his second podium position with a fine second place at Magny Cours. Back to back podiums followed in Hockenheim and Hungary, but Alonso was unable to win a race in 2004.

Everything fell Alonso's way in 2005 as he recorded seven race wins and eclipsed Emerson Fittipaldi's long-standing record as the Spaniard became the youngest ever Formula One World Champion. It was a stunning season from Alonso who made best of his ultra-competitive R25 package and beat rival Kimi Raikkonen to the title by 21 points. Alonso's on track efforts also brought Renault their first Constructors' Championship.

Following his title success, McLaren Mercedes made a shock announcement in December 2005 that they had signed Alonso up for 2007 and beyond. With a year remaining on his Renault contract, Alonso kicked off his season with six wins from the first nine races. It seemed the second title would surely fall his way but a charge by Michael Schumacher and Ferrari ensured that the battle went right down to the season finale in Brazil. Alonso needed just a single point to claim back-to-back titles and he duly finished second to take the title from Schumacher by 13 points.

Alonso joined McLaren in 2007 taking the coveted number one from Renault to his new team. What started off as a dream scenario, soon turned into a nightmare.

On track, 2007 was generally a very good season for Alonso. Wins in Malaysia, Monaco, Europe and Italy kept the Spaniard right in the title chase, but off track Alonso and the team were making headlines for all the wrong reasons.

The opening races of the season went smoothly enough, but by the Monaco Grand Prix it was clear that tensions were building between Alonso, the team and rookie team-mate Lewis Hamilton.

While McLaren had its own off track issues due to the spy scandal that rocked Formula One, Alonso felt he was not receiving the treatment he had expected from the team and was unhappy that he had to battle with his own team-mate for success. Things came to a point in qualifying for the Hungarian Grand Prix where Alonso opted to deliberately block Hamilton to try and secure his own position.

Alonso was correctly penalised by the stewards for his actions and it was clear that relations between the team and driver were more than strained. Alonso would finish the season third overall tied with Hamilton on points and just one behind victor Kimi Raikkonen. Undoubtedly Alonso squandered chances in 2007 and it was of no surprise that he and the team parted ways one year into a three year deal.

Alonso returns to Renault for the 2008 season and has been granted what he craved in 2007 at McLaren and that is number one status in the team. The double world champion has lost none of his pace, but his reputation took a battering at McLaren. With Renault, Alonso will be hoping to put all this behind him as he attempts to return the French manufacturer to the top step of the podium.