Alonso Ready for Start of 2010 F1 Championship
March 10th, 2010
Fernando Alonso has been seen for the first time today at the Bahrein circuit, the venue of this weekend’s first grand prix of the season and Alonso’s official debut as a Ferrari driver. The driver, born in Asturias, walked for several minutes in the paddock and was seen cycling along the pit lane, alongside other members of his new Italian team.
Alonso will take part in his first official duty in Bahrein tomorrow, when he will meet with the President of Banco Santander, Emilio Botin, who will present him and Felipe Massa with the “Book of Spirit”, part of their “Flame on the Road” campaign, containing hundreds of signatures in support of the drivers and the team.
“The Flame on the Road” has been an initiative by Banco Santander that consisted of a Ferrari 599 GT transporting a Santander F1 trophy and the “Book of Spirit” to several European cities and to Sau Paulo in Brazil, traveling around 25,000km in the process. The car stopped in cities where Banco Santander has a strong presence and gave directors, employees, bank customers and other guests the opportunity of driving the car for sections of 50 kilometres each. The car was also accompanied in each city by a replica of Alonso’s 2010 Ferrari F1 car.
In Bahrein, Alonso and Massa will also add their signatures to the official Santander F1 trophy, which originally left from Madrid and has passed through London, Monchengladbach, Maranello and Sao Paulo before arriving in Bahrain. The two Ferrari drivers’ signatures will be joined by that of Emilio Botin, Emerson Fittipaldi and Carlos Sainz, among many others. The trophy will then be auctioned off and the money raised will be used for a scholarship program.
For those lucky enough to be at the circuit tomorrow, the award ceremony will be held at 14.00 in the Ferrari garage. After which the real fun begins as Alonso prepares for practice, qualifying and his first race of the World Formula 1 Championship on Sunday.
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