3. Alonso takes surprise second consecutive victory – 2008
Following his crash in the race the year before, Fernando Alonso took a memorable victory in 2008.
It was the race after the now infamous Singapore “crash-gate” race. Given Renault’s early struggles in the 2008 season, few expected them to win one race, never mind consecutive races. Of course, given what we know to date, some may argue that this was the only race Alonso won on merit that year. It was the start of the run that saw the Spaniard score more points than any other driver in the closing races of the 2008 season.
As you’ll read in a moment, Alonso was given some help by his rivals at the start of the race, but he duly grabbed the opportunity with both hands. He defeated his close friend Robert Kubica (who was on a more favourable strategy) to take a surprise victory, with another candidate for the race victory, Heikki Kovalainen, retiring with engine failure.
