Fernando Alonso’s move to McLaren ahead of the 2007 F1 season was seen as one of the biggest driver moves in the sport at the time.
With the retirement of Michael Schumacher and Jacques Villeneuve at the end of 2006, Fernando Alonso became the only world champion to remain on the F1 grid following the success of his consecutive world championship campaigns beginning in 2005.
The announcement of Alonso’s decision to leave Renault came at the end of his first title-winning season, which is why it proved to be so much of a shock at the time.
The Spaniard had signed a new contract with the French team in April 2005, with the announcement of his departure for McLaren after the end of 2006 being made just months later in December.
Fernando Alonso left Renault after winning his second championship to join McLaren
The reasons for Alonso’s departure to Renault’s F1 rivals were made quite clear at the time by the Spaniard. Via Autosport, Alonso felt that he needed ‘a new challenge for 2007’ after Renault made him a world champion at ‘a very young age’.
Despite Renault winning both the drivers’ and constructors’ championships in 2005, McLaren was still a competitive force, taking 10 Grand Prix wins over the course of the season thanks to Kimi Raikkonen and Juan Pablo Montoya.
| Position | Driver | Points |
| 1 | Kimi Raikkonen | 110 |
| 2 | Lewis Hamilton | 109 |
| 3 | Fernando Alonso | 109 |
| 4 | Felipe Massa | 94 |
This, paired with the prestige that the McLaren name holds in F1, enticed Alonso further. The team had a base in which they could mount a championship challenge with in the future alongside Alonso’s experience of already being a world champion.
McLaren certainly did put up a championship challenge in Alonso’s only season in his first stint with the Woking-based outfit. He and Lewis Hamilton embarked on a fiery battle in the Brit’s rookie season, with the 2007 championship ending up in the hands of Raikkonen after a thrilling season-closer in Brazil.
Max Verstappen must think about the ‘biggest driver moves’ in F1 before making Red Bull decision
During Sky Sports F1’s Weekend Warm-Up ahead of the 2025 Belgian Grand Prix, former F1 driver Jolyon Palmer touched upon the fact that Max Verstappen should be looking at what sort of car teams can offer him in the future, amid his current restlessness at Red Bull, like Alonso did with Renault.
Speaking to co-hosts, Palmer stated, “When you think of some of the biggest driver moves in F1 history, remember Fernando Alonso when he was champion with Renault, he signed for McLaren already looking ahead to 2007.
“Think about Lewis Hamilton signing for Ferrari at the start of last year. So, they are definitely thinking not only 26, but 27.”
Alonso’s move to McLaren shared stark similarities to Lewis Hamilton’s recent move to Ferrari after 12 seasons with Mercedes. The seven-time world champion was announced as a driver for the Prancing Horse before the start of the 2024 season, a whole year before his actual move to Maranello.