20 years ago, Fernando Alonso’s and Renault’s maiden F1 world title

Two decades ago, Formula 1 seasons ended in October, and the world champion was sometimes crowned early in the fall. Fernando Alonso clinched his maiden world title on this day in 2005, weeks before the Flavio Briatore-run Renault outfit prevailed in the constructors’ championship, ending Michael Schumacher’s and Ferrari’s early-2000s supremacy.

Alonso was 24 years old, becoming F1’s youngest world champion in history as he beat Emerson Fittipaldi’s benchmark by a year and a half. He wouldn’t keep the record for long, subsequently surpassed by Lewis Hamilton in 2008 and Sebastian Vettel in 2010.

Renault’s R25 – the “perfect machine”

Alonso won seven races with the R25

Photo by: Steve Etherington / Motorsport Images

Designed by Bob Bell, Mark Smith and Dino Toso, and also driven by team-mate Giancarlo Fisichella, Renault’s R25 quickly emerged as the car to beat. Its aerodynamic balance, 72-degree V10 engine, formidable handling and efficient management of the Michelin rubber were key to its success.

Alonso had memorable drives on his way to the title. He famously held off Schumacher for victory at Imola, taking a third win in four grands prix, and achieved an emotional home triumph on Renault’s turf at Magny-Cours.

Alonso won seven of the 19 grands prix that year. Not even the Indianapolis farce hindered his chances, with Schumacher ruled out from the title race earlier than expected. Kimi Raikkonen was Alonso’s sole rival.

The Finn certainly was the fastest competitor over the second half of the season, but his McLaren-Mercedes suffered from a chronic lack of reliability; Alonso and Renault swiftly pulled away, with their record also including six pole positions and a whopping 15 podiums for the youngster alone – a clear display of his metronomic consistency.

Raikkonen and McLaren gave Renault a hard time

Photo by: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images

A winless fourth in the 2004 season, Alonso was yet beaten by Fisichella in the opening round of 2005, at Melbourne. Renault had the edge over its opponents, and Alonso went on to take three consecutive wins while his Italian team-mate endured as many retirements. Internally, the Spaniard was poised to manage his lead over the remainder of the campaign.

A symbol of the aforementioned management was polesitter Alonso ending the title race two grands prix early with third place at Interlagos. He would go on to take a second crown in 2006, before many other chapters in his F1 career: his rivalry with Hamilton at McLaren, the Spygate, the Crashgate, his Ferrari adventure, and many more.

In 2026, Alonso will celebrate his 45th birthday as an Aston Martin F1 racer, taking what might be his last shot at glory. “I didn't think about being, 20 years after my championship, still around,” he said in Baku.

Regardless, he will always keep fond memories of everything he experienced in 2005 with Renault.

“The feelings are never going to be the same as in 2004 and 2005 because the cars had an aerodynamic freedom that we don't have now,” he said back in 2017. “With engines that were very different, and especially with 130kg less than what we have now and 230kg less in the race. So it's impossible to have what we had in 2004 in terms of feeling.”

Alonso’s nostalgia was rekindled in Abu Dhabi back in 2020, as he drove the R25 again for a few laps: “Every time I'm in this cockpit and I'm in this car, with all the memories, it becomes natural to drive fast. To feel the speed is amazing. I know it's an old car, but it's a perfect machine for me.”

New world champion Alonso after the Brazilian GP

Photo by: Steve Etherington / Motorsport Images