On September 25, 2005, Fernando Alonso won his first Formula 1 World Champion title. At 24, he was the youngest driver to achieve it (a record later broken by Lewis Hamilton in 2008 and Sebastian Vettel in 2010). Alonso and Renault ended Michael Schumacher and Ferrari's dominance (the German won five World Championship titles in a row).
Alonso finished third at the Brazil GP, but won seven of the 19 races that year, after a winless 2004. He had won his first Grand Prix in 2003, becoming the first Spaniard to do so. With the Renault's R25, he and his Renault teammate Giancarlo Fisichella managed to also win the Constructor's championship.
Alonso would win the title again in 2006, but never again won another World Championship. He came very close in 2007 (one point behind Kimi Raikkonen), 2010 (four points behind Sebastian Vettel), 2012 (three points behind Vettel) and 2013. Those were the golden years of the "Alonsomanía", where Formula became the most talked about sport (behind football) in Spanish society. It helped that it was broadcast on free to air TV, too...
Alonso has not won a Grand Prix since 2013, but at 44, he is still fighting for it, and sees 2026 as a year of opportunity, with the new regulations in place and the work of Adrian Newey at Aston Martin.