Athletes Who Insured Their Body Parts

Formula One racecar driver Fernando Alonso made his debut with Minardi in 2001 and has driven for McLauren, Ferrari, and won back-to-back World Drivers Championships in 2005 and 2006 with Renault. As of this writing, the Spaniard drives for Alpine and is highly considered one of the best Formula 1 drivers around, or at least to some, with drivers like Lewis Hamilton and Michael Schumacher being long-time fan favorites.

According to Reuters, in 2010, Alonso had his thumbs insured for $13.3 million by Spanish-based bank Santandar who had the professional racecar driver be part of their insurance campaigns. The bank shared that the Formula One driver's thumbs were "a symbol, as well as being essential for driving a Formula One car, in that they make a sign of victory and show that everything is under control and well protected."

In April 2022, Alonso suffered a hand injury following a crash at the Australian F1 qualifiers, per Motorsport. According to Express, his thumbs were bandaged up for the Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix, with the driver stating, "It was an extension of the thumbs, so it is a little bit painful now, but it's going to be okay for the race." Alonso placed last in the race, per Formula 1. 

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