Alonso gets stuck in gravel trap in first Ferrari appearance (Pictures & video)

15th November 2009, 17:56 by Keith Collantine 68 Comments »

The first public appearance at Ferrari for Fernando Alonso didn’t go entirely according to plan.

The Spanish champion got stuck in a gravel trap while he and future team mate Felipe Massa were being driven around the Valencia circuit in a Ferrari California by Ferrari chairman Luca di Montezemolo.

They’d been trying to get as close as possible to the 17,000 Spanish fans who turned out to see Alonso’s first appearance for Ferrari. Unsurprisingly Ferrari did not publish photographs of the incident but there’s plenty of pictures from the event below.

Alonso was only able to attend the event after getting permission from Renault at the last minute, as he is still contracted to them until the new year. He told the crowd:

This is a very important day for me, because here I can understand what the world of Ferrari is really like. In 2010 I hope to fight for the world title together with Felipe and that all the fans can be proud of us and our professionalism.
Fernando Alonso

Massa and Alonso were at the Ricardo Tormo circuit near Valencia in Spain for the final day of the Ferrari Finali Mondiali (Ferrari world finals).

They joined Giancarlo Fisichella, Marc Gene and Luca Badoer – Ferrari’s three official test drivers for 2010.

Here’s a collection of pictures of the celebrations which featured many Ferrari F1 cars including the gorgeous ex-Jean Alesi 1995 car number 27 – the last V12-engined Ferrari.

2009 Ferrari Finali Mondiali in pictures

Update: Thanks to Nano Rock for the video!

Update: Ferrari media release

Fernando Alonso’s first time at a Ferrari event was carried by the great enthusiasm from the fans present at the Ricardo Tormo di Cheste circuit near Valencia. Under an almost summery sun more than 17,000 spectators came on the conclusive day to watch the Finali Mondiali, the traditional event of the Prancing Horse held since 1994 at the end of the motorsport season.

Today was the first day when the whole 2010 Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro came together: next to Alonso there were Felipe Massa, Giancarlo Fisichella, Marc Gené and Luca Badoer. Fernando’s public debut as a Ferrarista started with an entertaining episode. When the Spanish driver, on board of a Ferrari California with his future teammate Felipe and driven by Chairman Luca di Montezemolo, tried to get as close to the grandstands in turn 1 as possible, the car got stuck in the gravel of the run-off area. Therefore the spectators got a good view and enough time to greet their local hero. The trio was “rescued” by the second California on the track, driven by the President of the Comunità Valenciana, Fernando Camps, with Valencia’s mayor Rita Barberà on board. Once the three guests had been collected the light blue car drove back to the box and the passengers went for a walk onto the track along the main straight. “This is a very important day for me, because here I can understand what the world of Ferrari is really like,” Fernando told the spectators. “In 2010 I hope to fight for the World Title together with Felipe and that all the fans can be proud of us and our professionalism.”

More F1 pictures

Images (C) Ferrari spa

Read more: 2009 F1 season | Articles in full | F1 drivers (active) | F1 teams (active) | Felipe Massa | Fernando Alonso | Ferrari