Fernando Alonso's last dance at Montmeló

BarcelonaOne has to go back to May 12, 2013, to find Fernando Alonso's last victory in Formula 1. It was precisely in Montmeló. The then Ferrari driver, already crowned two-time World Champion with the Renault team, was unsuccessfully trying to achieve a third crown with the Italian team. It never materialized, always in the shadow of Red Bull, the team that was making the difference in the competition at the time. This Sunday, the Asturian driver, now in the Aston Martin ranks, will once again get into a single-seater on the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya asphalt, but without any chance of victory. Not even of getting on the podium. As he himself admitted, it will "probably" be his last performance in front of the Catalan fans (3 p.m., DAZN).

It will be a special race for Alonso, who has been looking for "the 33" for more than thirteen years, which is how his goal of winning a race again after the 32 triumphs he had accumulated in F1 was nicknamed. After temporarily leaving the premier class of motorsport, it seemed he could dream of victory in the 2023 season, when he climbed onto the podium eight times. At that time, Aston Martin was a team that everyone took very seriously. Today it is probably the worst team on the grid and Alonso, a resigned driver who will start from the last position in this Grand Prix.

The race, marked by nostalgia in the stands, will start with George Russell (Mercedes) starting from But even if he takes the step, the only sure thing is that next year Alonso will not compete in Montmeló. Neither he nor any F1 drivers, as this is the last season in which the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix is an uninterrupted part of the calendar. From 2026 onwards, alternation begins and Montmeló will only be able to host a race every two years: it is signed for 2028, 2030 and 2032. Further ahead, we will see. Formula 1 – for a decade now, in the hands of Liberty Media – was very comfortable in Catalan territory, but political doubts when negotiating the fee to keep the competition in Montmeló and Madrid's insistence on winning the Spanish Grand Prix has tipped the balance.

'Pole' for Russell, followed by Hamilton and Antonelli

The race, marked by nostalgia in the stands, will start with George Russell (Mercedes) starting from the pole position, which was just 64 thousandths faster than Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari), while the Italian Andrea Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes), clear leader of the World Championship, will start third.