Fernando Alonso has shared a touching present gifted to him and his partner, Melissa Jimenez, by Formula 1 following the birth of their first child.
The two-time champion and Jimenez recently welcomed a baby boy named Leonard. The arrival meant that the Spaniard had to skip his media obligations on the Thursday ahead of the Japanese Grand Prix.
"I’m a little jet-lagged because I landed this morning, but here we are," Alonso told DAZN Spain after the second practice session at the Suzuka circuit. "We just finished FP2, and in a few hours it’s time to sleep - I skipped the European night session."
"You never really imagine anything specific," he continued. "Things just happen as they happen, and there’s a bit of stress and worry about everything going well.
"Fortunately, it went well, both for the mum and the baby. A super happy, very special moment."
Alonso took to Instagram Stories to share the special delivery from F1 management, which was paddock credentials for the newborn with the message, "Welcome to the F1 family".
The Aston Martin driver responded with the caption, "Big thanks to F1! First of many."
Fernando's son has already got a paddock pass
by u/ElectionMoney3911 in formula1
Fans quickly reacted to the post, joking that it would not be long until Alonso's son is in F1. "Can’t wait to root for him in a few years’ time," one commented, while another added: "The championship fight against his own dad will be legendary."
"Maybe in 18 years we will still have Raikkonen vs Alonso vs Verstappen," someone else posted.
This comes amid a difficult start to the 2026 season for Alonso and the Aston Martin team. The Silverstone outfit's highly anticipated works partnership with Honda has so far failed to deliver the expected jump in performance.
The AMR26 has been plagued by reliability woes, mainly stemming from excessive chassis vibrations.
There is now a five-week break until the Miami Grand Prix, which will give the British team time to work on some of the issues.
