Fernando Alonso's return to Renault in 2008 may not have yielded another World title but it did cement his place as one of the sport's greatest drivers.

Two victories in an underpowered Renault served as a powerful reminder that the Spaniard remains a force to be reckoned with - no matter the machinery at his disposal.

Alonso made his F1 debut for Minardi as a 19-year-old at the 2001 Australian GP.

It was quickly obvious that Fernando was too quick to be a mere backmarker and it was no surprise when manager Flavio Briatore promoted Fernando to the role of Renault tester and then handed him a race seat for 2003.

Since then his rise has been astonishing, with the next 12 months witnessing Fernando becoming the youngest driver ever on pole, the youngest to set a fastest lap and his win in Hungary in 2003 made him the youngest ever GP winner.

However, Renault struggled to match their 2003 exploits in 2004 and for a while Fernando's star appeared to be on the wane.

Yet he returned to something akin to his previous form in the latter half of the campaign, finishing third in successive races at Hockenheim and Budapest.

The back-to-back podium finishes, though, were only a hint of what was to come and even before the halfway point of the 2005 season it was clear to (almost) everyone that in Fernando Alonso, F1 had found its new king.

While his rivals suffered with either a lack of pace or an abundance of reliability gremlins, Fernando, his R25 and its Michelin tyres were bordering on the flawless, claiming seven wins, eight podium finishes and the ultimate prize, the Drivers' Championship title.

Fernando clinched the title at the Brazilian GP, race 17, ending Michael Schumacher's five-year reign, Kimi Raikkonen's title dream, Spain's title drought and Emerson Fittipaldi's long-standing record for being the youngest-ever F1 world champion.

Despite announcing in November 2005 that he would be joining the McLaren team for 2007, Alonso stayed with Renault for the 2006 season where, once again he partnered Giancarlo Fisichella.

As predicted, Fernando went on to claim back-to-back World tiles, although it wasn't as easy as it had been the previous season.

Not only was the season dogged by controversy and the banning of Renault's mass dampers, but the Spaniard was also pushed all the way to the finish line by Michael Schumacher.

And one could argue that in the end Fernando's title efforts were helped by Schumacher's misfortunes in the final two races.

But no matter how it came about, it was Alonso who was crowned the 2006 world champion when he finished second at the season-ending Brazilian Grand Prix.

However, his first season - and perhaps his last - with McLaren didn't produce the results expected.

Although he claimed four race wins and finished the year third in the Drivers' standings, albeit one point behind the 2007 world champion, his season was fraught with arguments and bitter accusations.

First there was Stepneygate, which saw Alonso's email conversations with test driver Pedro de la Rosa sink McLaren, earning them a massive fine and their disqualification from the Constructors' Championship.

Second there were his on-going arguments with Ron Dennis over his desire preferential treatment.

And thirdly there was his on and off-track fights with his team-mate Lewis Hamilton.

It was far from being Alonso's finest hour, with the Spaniard billed as the villain and two weeks after the conclusion of the season it was announced that he would be leaving McLaren after the two parties failed to see how they could continue working together.

After much debate and the news that Renault won't be punished after being accused of being in possession of McLaren's secret technical data, it was announced that Alonso would return to the team with whom he won both his World titles.

And although the 2008 season did not yield a world title for the Spaniard, it did cement his place as one of the sport's greatest drivers as he produced results beyond the car's capabilities.

After a dismal start to the Championship, with Renault well off the pace, Alonso helped turn their fortunes around, living up to his "I bring 6/10ths of a second" to the team statement made while at McLaren, winning back-to-back grands prix in Singapore and Japan.

He finished the season fifth in the standings, ahead of his McLaren replacement Heikki Kovalainen, and also helped Renault achieve fourth place in the Constructors' race.

For 2009 Alonso will be remaining at Renault where once again he hopes to bring that added extra to the team as they fight to return to sharp end of the grid. With Fernando behind the wheel, don't bet against it.