Personal and Early Life
Fernando Alonso was born in Oviedo, Asturias in northern Spain. His mother worked in a department store and his father was employed as a mechanic in an explosives factory near Oviedo. Alonso has an older sister, Lorena. Alonso's father José Luis, an amateur kart racer, wanted to pass on his passion to his children. He built a kart, originally meant for eight-year-old Lorena, but unlike her three-year-old brother, she showed no interest in the sport.
Alonso attended the Holy Guardian Angel Primary School in Oviedo until he was 14 when he later attended the Institute Leopoldo Alas Clarín of San Lazaro. He dropped out in 2000 as his commitment to motor racing prevented him from further studying.
In 1998, he moved to England near the area to the University of Oxford. With friends from his native Spain, Alonso often spent time on a computer or socialising with others.
Since winning his first world championship in 2005, Alonso became an ambassor of the University of Oxford, to promote the new field of study of Motorsport of Business for Social Science financing 12 students from all parts of the world.
Alonso married Raquel del Rosario, lead singer of Spanish pop band El Sueño de Morfeo, on 17 November 2006. They announced their intention to divorce in December 2011.
They lived in Oxford, England until they moved their residence to Switzerland in 2006. Alonso owned a house in Mont-sur-Rolle, near Lake Geneva from 2006 to 2010, and in February 2010 he moved house to Lugano in order to be closer to his new Formula One employer Ferrari. It is highly common for Formula One stars to take up residence in Switzerland to reduce their tax bills. In the winter of 2010–11, Alonso moved back to Oviedo in order to be closer to friends and family, costing him an estimated £50 million in tax.
He is an avid card tricks fan and usually demonstrates various tricks during the race weekend. He is also interested in other sports, like cycling, football and tennis. Alonso hinted at running a cycling team in the 2011 edition of the Tour de France with Alberto Contador leading the team. Alonso is a supporter of Real Madrid and Real Oviedo.
In terms of food, Alonso does not like food that contains salt. His hobbies include cycling, tennis and football. Alonso is a fan of the James Bond film series. His favourite music band is Red Hot Chili Peppers and his favourite single is their hit song By the Way. Alonso is the owner of Alonso-Kart, a business he founded, which sells various types of chassis for karts and spare parts.
In addition to Spanish, he speaks English and Italian.
Alonso has a tattoo of an ancient samurai on his back. He revealed that the tattoo showed strength in his muscles, intelligence and force of will with inspiration from the Hagaware, the spiritual guide written by Yamamoto Tsunetomo in the 18th century.
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