Flavio Briatore explains Fernando Alonso's F1 title win importance

Fernando Alonso celebrates winning the 2005 F1 world championship — Photo: © IMAGO

Flavio Briatore explains Fernando Alonso's F1 title win importance

Fernando Alonso won the championship in 2005 and 2006

Originally written by Sam Cook. This version is a translation.

Saturday 3 January 2026 22:59

Flavio Briatore has explained the wider importance of Fernando Alonso's 2005 world championship title victory.

Alonso won the drivers' championship in both 2005 and 2006 with the Renault team, beating seven-time champion Michael Schumacher to both titles.

Alonso is still going strong in the sport now at the age of 44, although has not won another world title, and has not even won a race since 2013.

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But now, his former boss has taken us all back to 2005, when Alonso became the youngest champion in F1 history with a seven-win season.

"He replaced a world champion and many criticised him for being young and inexperienced, but I believed in him," Briatore said in a new DAZN documentary titled Bravissimo.

"In 2005 we not only won a world championship, we also introduced Formula 1 to Spain. It was the moment when everyone truly got to know Fernando Alonso. Not just because he won the world championship, but because of how he won it; we did it with authority."

Can Alonso win another race?

Now 44 years old, Alonso's hopes of claiming a third world championship title may be fading away, but he could still claim a 33rd career grand prix victory.

Alonso has not won a race since the 2013 Spanish Grand Prix, but does have a contract that runs until the end of next season, and may even go on beyond that.

The Spaniard has said that, if Aston Martin provide him with a car that's fighting for race wins in 2026, he'll be happy to retire, but if they're still struggling for top 10 finishes, he may well carry on beyond that.

Alonso's driving ability is still there compared to his rivals, outqualifiying his much younger team-mate Lance Stroll ahead of a grand prix on all 24 occasions in 2025.

F1 Fernando Alonso Flavio Briatore Renault