When you think of some of the great first laps in F1’s 75-year history, Ayrton Senna springs to mind in the wet at Donington in 1993. Fernando Alonso emulated that with a stunning opening lap in 2006 at the Hungaroring.
Alonso is one of the most opportunistic overtakers in F1 and has impressed everybody over the years with his prowess behind the wheel.
The Spaniard made his F1 debut in the 2001 season with the backmarker team Minardi and impressed Flavio Briatore, who took him on as a test driver for Renault in 2002 before giving him a full-time drive in 2003.
Alonso would go on to take his first Grand Prix victory in Hungary with a stunning lights-to-flag win, before winning his first title with the Enstone-based squad in 2005.
A few years later would produce one of the best opening laps around the track, often lauded for being Monaco without the walls, on his way to a second title.
Anthony Davidson brands Fernando Alonso ‘absolute joy’ after watching Hungary opening lap
Rain had hit the circuit in the hours leading up to the race, making it the first ever wet Hungarian Grand Prix. All of the drivers started on the Intermediate tyre apart from Rubens Barrichello, who played it safe on the full wet tyre.
Alonso had qualified in 15th place after he was given a two-second time penalty added to his qualifying times, after the stewards found he had brake tested Robert Doornbos in practice and overtaken under yellow flags.
The low grid position was short-lived for Alonso, however, after he managed to carve his way through the field on the opening lap. Alonso picked off cars one by one on the opening lap, first overtaking a few into the first corner.
The Spaniard went three-wide with Nico Rosberg and David Coulthard into Turn 2, with him backing out in the middle of what became a Red Bull/Renault/BMW sandwich. He would later overtake Rosberg at Turn 4 on the inside after the BMW driver ran wide.
Next up was Coulthard at the Turn 6 chicane, then Nick Heidfeld at Turn 7, before overtaking Felipe Massa at Turn 14 to make his way from 15th on the grid to 6th on the opening lap.
Anthony Davidson, who was commentating on the race, later said in a piece with Sky Sports F1 that it was the beginning of when everyone started to see Alonso’s character.
“We were still yet to learn fully Fernando’s character at this stage. He was quite new to F1 and we knew how feisty he could be on track,” said Davidson.
“It’s obvious watching it back how aggressive he is watching it back, but at the time it was an absolute joy to watch because we were still learning about him in many ways.”
What happened to Fernando Alonso in the rest of the Hungarian Grand Prix?
Alonso would fight with Schumacher, who also had to fight through the field after being given a time penalty in qualifying for overtaking under yellows in practice.
The pair went wheel-to-wheel in the sodden conditions, in what looked like a rematch of their impressive battle at Imola. Alonso would then pass him at Turn 5 and reach third place.
Once both McLarens pitted, he took the lead of the race and controlled the pace, while teammate Giancarlo Fisichella fought with Schumacher, with the Ferrari driver damaging his front wing.
Alonso pitted with 19 laps to go for dry tyres, but his right-rear wheel nut detached as he exited the pits, causing him to lose control at Turn 2 and slam into the barriers.
It meant Jenson Button, who climbed up from 14th on the grid after taking an engine replacement penalty, was leading the race and went on to take his first ever win in F1 in the changeable conditions.