Formula One will say goodbye to Fernando Alonso at the end of the season after McLaren announced he would not be racing for the team in 2019.
Alonso is still widely regarded as one of the best drivers on the grid and he leaves the sport with two drivers' titles, 32 victories and 97 podium finishes to his name. While on the surface Alonso's statistics look remarkable, his talent, sheer speed and determination mean he should have achieved much more than he has.
Reflecting on his 17-year career in F1, ESPN has picked out his best and most memorable moments...
10. From deckchairs to impromptu podium appearances
While his second spell at McLaren wasn't fruitful in terms of results, the Spaniard did give us some memorable moments away from the race track. After yet another engine failure in qualifying for the 2015 Brazilian Grand Prix, Alonso sat trackside on a deckchair and sunbathed as the cars pounded around the Interlagos circuit. His actions spawned the popular hashtag #PlacesAlonsoWouldRatherBe with fans photoshopping Alonso onto different settings.
2015 season from A to Z
— Formula 1 (@F1) December 11, 2015
P is for... #PlacesAlonsoWouldRatherBe #FridayFeeling https://t.co/FV9VYTcEkc pic.twitter.com/E1d6C68bG2
9. Winning in red on his debut
The 2010 season-opener in Bahrain got Alonso's career at Ferrari off to the best possible start, albeit in slightly fortunate circumstances. After being out-qualified by the other Ferrari of Felipe Massa, Alonso made, in typical fashion, a great start and moved ahead of his teammate into second place. Vettel -- who had dominated the race from pole position -- suffered a spark plug failure 15 laps from the end of the race, allowing Alonso and Massa to overtake the German to secure a Ferrari one-two.
8. First win at home
Alonso's first win in front of his adoring 130,000-capacity home crowd came in 2006. He became the first Spaniard to win at the Circuit de Catalunya, in what was a comfortable race. Michael Schumacher and Renault teammate Giancarlo Fisichella joined him on the podium as his early-season domination of the 2006 season continued.
7. The first of 32
After a year out testing for Renault, Alonso returned to F1 in 2003 and quickly established himself as one of the sport's most promising talents. Heading to the Hungarian Grand Prix in 2003, Alonso already had three podium finishes to his name. The 13th round of the season saw Alonso dominate from pole position and storm to a commanding victory ahead of Kimi Raikkonen and Juan-Pablo Montoya.
6. His final victory
If, at the time, someone said to you that the 2013 Spanish Grand Prix was going to be Alonso's final victory in F1, you'd have been laughed at. But Alonso's most recent victory is definitely one of his most memorable. As he did for much of his time at Ferrari, Alonso made a quick start from fifth on the grid and in sensational fashion overtook both Raikkonen and Hamilton around the outside of Turn 3 on the opening lap.
Impressive race pace and an aggressive four-stop strategy allowed him to get ahead of Vettel -- who was running in second, and poleman Nico Rosberg. Alonso controlled the race from that point onwards to claim a 32nd career victory. Providing that nothing strange happens in the final part of the 2018 season, it looks likely to be his final race victory in F1.
5. Malaysia triumph against all the odds
"This one is the most beautiful, the most beautiful," Alonso's race engineer Andrea Stella said after his driver took an unlikely win at the 2012 Malaysian Grand Prix. Ferrari went into the second round of the season with a car over a second slower than its rivals. Qualifying eighth on the grid, 1.3s down on poleman Hamilton, his chances of a win looked improbable. An early rainstorm and red flag period changed everything, allowing Alonso to jump the leading McLarens in the stops.
He later overtook Sergio Perez but as the track dried out, Ferrari's limitations surfaced. Alonso began to be caught by Perez before a mistake from the Mexican gave him enough of a gap to bring the car home. A remarkable victory which ultimately proved to be the catalyst for Alonso's greatest ever season.
4. Emotional win on home soil
The 2012 European Grand Prix in Valencia epitomised the strengths and talents of Alonso. From 11th on the grid, Alonso cut his way through the field overtaking Nico Hulkenberg, Pastor Maldonado and then Michael Schumacher in quick succession. Alonso gained a place on Hamilton under the Safety Car period, before a sensational pass on the Lotus of Romain Grosjean around the outside of the tight Turn 1 handed him second place. He then claimed the lead as Vettel suffered an alternator failure.
From then on, the Ferrari driver did not look back and went onto claim his first win on home soil since 2006. An emotional Alonso shed tears on the podium as he celebrated what is quite possibly his greatest ever F1 drive.
3. Becoming the youngest ever world champion
Tweaks to the 2005 regulations put an end to years of Schumacher-Ferrari dominance. Renault and Alonso may not have had the fastest car in 2005, but strong reliability and consistency handed the Spaniard his first title. The Spaniard went onto win seven races and wrapped it up with two rounds to spare, becoming F1's youngest ever world champion at the age of 24 years and 58 days. That record would not be beaten until 2008 when Hamilton stole the title from Felipe Massa.
2. Displacing Schumacher at the top of F1
A titanic battle between two of F1's greatest went to the final round in Brazil. The momentum shifted back and forth throughout the 2006 season with Alonso dominating much of the first part of the season and Schumacher and Ferrari returning to form after the FIA decided to ban the 'mass damper' system which Renault had on its car.
Going into the final round in Brazil, Alonso required a single point to become a double world champion while Schumacher needed a miracle to claim an unprecedented eighth title. An early puncture effectively ended the duel but unlike in 2005, Alonso went head-to-head to finish with Schumacher, beating the man who had dominated the sport for so long. It was the end of an era with Schumacher retiring and Alonso the heir to his throne. The Spaniard was expected to dominate for many years following 2006.
1. The near-perfect season
While 2012 did not reward Alonso with a third title, it will go down as one of the greatest individual seasons by a driver. Ferrari started 2012 with a car over a second off the pace with both Alonso and teammate Massa failing to make Q3 in the first race in Melbourne. Even so, Alonso was simply faultless for much of 2012 and extracted the maximum from the Ferrari F2012 -- a car which at best was fourth fastest behind McLaren, Red Bull and Lotus.
Victories in Malaysia, Valencia and Germany put him well clear of the rest going into the summer break. Spa proved to be a turning point with Romain Grosjean causing that infamous lap one crash, costing Alonso crucial points in the title race. Red Bull and Vettel's upturn in form coincided with his only major mistake of the season, where he clipped Raikkonen on the opening lap of the Japanese Grand Prix, forcing him to retire.
Despite having an inferior car, Alonso managed to stay in contention right until the very end. His second place in the dramatic finale in Brazil wasn't enough to secure title number three as Vettel recovered to seventh after his lap one spin to win a third straight title.The history books will say Vettel was the 2012 champion, but it will always be remembered as the Spaniard's year, the year Fernando Alonso took a mediocre Ferrari to the edge of glory.