How Fernando Alonso came close to driving the Pope in famous Popemobile

A Spanish executive has revealed how the country petitioned to have Fernando Alonso drive the Pope in the famous Popemobile but was turned down by the Papacy.

The idea of one of the most protected individuals in the world being driven by a man wanting to go as fast as possible seems fanciful but that was the intended idea back in 2011.

Fernando Alonso’s chance to chauffeur the Pope

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Pope Benedict XVI visited Alonso’s home country in 2011 for World Youth Day and as with such events, there was huge planning behind it.

Yago de la Cierva, who is the coordinator of Pope Leo XIV’s upcoming visit to Spain in June, revealed that one of those plans included Alonso getting behind the wheel of the Popemobile.

“In all papal trips there are surprises and we want to work so that in this one, there will be,” he said in a recent press conference.

“In 2011, for example, we had a meeting with 200 authorities in the field of security, we wanted the Popemobile to be driven by Fernando Alonso and they shouted to the skies.

“They were furious. They told us: absolutely not! I told them that Fernando probably knew how to drive a car. The Pope wouldn’t be in danger. They told me it had to be a police officer driving the car.”

Alonso may well prefer to drive the Popemobile currently as he struggled with his Aston Martin. The Silverstone team have been battling with issues all season and Alonso suggested it was similar to his former team McLaren.

“We have been running without too many issues for the last two weekends,” Alonso said over the Japanese Grand Prix weekend.

“Obviously, in terms of performance, we are at the back. So, yeah, you don’t find any satisfaction when you are not competitive.

“But, you know, we try to stay together, to stay strong, and give time to both factories to fix the situation. They are working flat out. There are a couple of improvements, a couple of ideas.

“We saw the McLaren in 2023. They were last in the first couple of races, and they eventually were at the front at the end of the year. Maybe that’s too optimistic. That’s a dream scenario.

“But, in a way, we know that the season is long, and if you understand the problems and you fix them, you have plenty of time to do the second part of the year or the last third of the championship in a much better position. That’s what we are working on now.”

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