Fernando Alonso Diaz, also known as Fernando Alonso, a Spanish Formula One racing driver and a double World Champion. At age 37, the McLaren’s Spanish driver F1 Racer is one of the richest with $220million net worth.
The Spanish two-time world champion Fernando Alonso has announced he is to retire from Formula 1 at the end of the season.
The McLaren driver will end a career that began with a debut for Minardi at the Australian Grand Prix of 2001.
Alonso is competing in his 17th F1 season, won the 2005 and 2006 championships when racing for Renault.
“After 17 wonderful years in this amazing sport it’s time for me to make a change and move on,” he said.
“I made this decision some months ago and it was a firm one. There are still several grands prix to go this season, and I will take part in them with more commitment and passion than ever,” he added.
“Let’s see what the future brings; new exciting challenges are around the corner. I’m having one of the happiest times ever in my life but I need to go on exploring new adventures.”
Alonso has in recent years branched out into other series and in June he won the Le Mans 24 Hours sportscar race at his first attempt.
He joined Toyota’s World Endurance Championship (WEC) programme this season with the aim of winning Le Mans, and has dovetailed it with F1.
Fernando has been sponsored by the banking company Citigroup and the multinational company called Pirelli. In 2015, he earned $1.5 million from numerous endorsements. His contract with McLaren-Honda the same year got him a grand $36 million. Forbes estimated his 10-year earning amounted to a massive $289 million. He sits on #20 in the Forbes list of Highest Paid Athletes.
Alonso roughly earns $30 million per annum on track and cashed $300,000 from his trip to Brickyard. In addition to his regular salary, he also earns bonuses from his wins. He scored $29 million in 2014 from his salary plus winning bonuses.
In addition to that, Alonso has a massive car collection that consists of a Maserati and a Ferrari. He is also said to own an apartment in La Reve which is a 52-story complex in Dubai. Fernando previously lived in Oxford before moving to his Swiss mansion.
After winning Euro-Open Movistar Series, in December 1999, Alonso had his first Formula One test in Jerez with Minardi, the team which gave him his Grand Pix debut. He became a test driver at Benetton in 2000.
He was the third youngest driver to start a Formula One race when he debuted at the Australian Grand Pix with Minardi.
Anthony Nlebem
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