When Fernando Alonso flashed the middle finger at Ralf Schumacher while crashing with his car in Monaco

Fernando Alonso was left extremely furious after he tangled with Ralf Schumacher and crashed out of the race during the 2004 Monaco GP. Following this, the then-Renault driver showed the middle finger to Schumacher out of frustration.

The race at the Principality saw Jarno Trulli start from the pole, while Schumacher started from P2. Alonso, who qualified behind Jenson Button, started from P4. As the race began, the Spanish driver gained ground and left everyone behind with a brilliant strategy and perfect pit stop execution.

However, things turned upside down when Alonso was trying to lap the backmarker, Schumacher. In an audacious attempt to go around the outside, he tangled with Schumacher inside the Monaco's famous tunnel.

As a result, Alonso crashed out of the race, having raced for just 41 out of 77 laps. Trulli, who started from pole, claimed the victory, ahead of Button. Rubens Barrichello wrapped up the final podium place.

Here's the video of the crash that surfaced on social media:

Fernando Alonso went on to finish in P4 in the Drivers' Championship that year, behind champion Michael Schumacher, his teammate, Barrichello, and BAR's Button. However, Alonso came out stronger the very next year as he dethroned Michael and won his first-ever championship.

In 2006, Alonso defended his title with Renault and put himself on the list of two-time F1 world champions. He fended off Schumacher by 13 points, who was vying for his eighth F1 title.

How is Fernando Alonso performing in Aston Martin?

After his Renault days were over, Fernando Alonso raced for multiple teams such as McLaren, Ferrari, Alpine (rebranded from Renault), and finally moved to Aston Martin in 2023. He arrived at the Silverstone-based team to race alongside Lance Stroll and replace retirement-bound Sebastian Vettel.

Lance Stroll of Canada driving the (18) Aston Martin F1 Team AMR25 Mercedes leads Fernando Alonso of Spain driving the (14) Aston Martin F1 Team AMR25 Mercedes - Source: Getty Images

Alonso started his 2023 with a bang, as he claimed three back-to-back podiums. But from then on, he could not achieve optimum performance with Aston Martin as the British team had a constant downward spiral. He finished that year in P4 and 2024 in P9.

Coming into 2025, Alonso struggled to get going, as did his teammate, Lance Stroll. However, for the first time in three years, he is behind Stroll in the Drivers' Championship, who kept his advantage, especially after the British GP.

Despite starting off strong, Alonso dropped two places and finished in P9, whereas Stroll came home in P7 from P17, thanks to a brilliant strategy by Lawrence Stroll's team. Alonso is in P14 with 16, whereas Stroll is in P12 with 20 points.

Edited by Hitesh Nigam