Damon Hill anoints 413 F1 race veteran as his driver of the day for Spanish GP

1996 F1 world champion Damon Hill has anointed Fernando Alonso as his Driver of the Day for the Spanish GP, after he bagged his first points finish of the season in Barcelona. The Spaniard crossed the line in P10, but was promoted to ninth after Max Verstappen received a 10-second time penalty for his incident with George Russell.

Fernando Alonso has not had luck go his way in the 2025 F1 season so far, having lost out from points scoring positions on multiple occasions due to no fault of his own. Most recently, the 43-year-old had to retire his car at the Monaco GP due to an engine failure, after running in P6.

But at the Spanish GP, in what is his home race, Alonso finally managed to finish in the top 10 and grab his first points of the season. F1 shared a post via their official Instagram account to the 2x world champion's first points finish in 2025.

Former F1 world champion Damon Hill reshared this post via his Instagram story and recognised his efforts by anointing him as his driver of the day.

"Driver of the Race (for me)"

Screen grab from Damon Hill's Instagram story [via Instagram/96f1champ]

Alonso was the only driver from his team competing at the Spanish GP, after Lance Stroll withdrew from the race post-qualifying due to a wrist injury. This was also only Aston Martin's third points finish this season, and the first since Stroll's P9 finish in Round 2 of the 2025 season in China.

Aston Martin have finished fifth in the constructors' standings in the last two seasons, having solidified their place as "the best of the rest" behind the front running teams. But the British team has lost ground in 2025, currently languishing in ninth, with Williams now looking like the closest challengers to the top teams.

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Fernando Alonso shares bittersweet emotions after Spanish GP

Fernando Alonso during the Spanish GP - Source: Getty

Fernando Alonso shared that he was happy to put the question of scoring his first points of the season to bed, after grabbing his first two points of the season at the Spanish GP. But the veteran also shared that he expected a smoother ride during the race weekend in Catalonia, amid a hectic race.

Speaking to the media about his first top-10 finish of the season, Alonso shared his thoughts post-race, saying:

"P9 is the first two points in the championship. And finally, we avoid the question on next Thursday, if that will be the weekend," [via PlanetF1]

"But I was expecting a little bit more, probably, from the race." he added.

Alonso went on to point out the major issues with his Aston Martin AMR25, highlighting front tire degradation and the lack of competitive top speed as the two main problems he faced during the Spanish GP. The Spaniard emphasised the need to fix these problems so the team has a better chance of competing with the teams around them in the constructors' standings. [via PlanetF1]