A blazing start
Sakhir (Bahrain), 11 March -- A climate of great expectations today at the
Sakhir regarding the return of the Formula 1 World Championship after a
break of five months. On the occasion of the first of the 19 races on the
agenda, the "Flame on the Road", the trophy tendered by Santander for the
GPs in Spain, England and Brazil, arrived at the track in Bahrain. After
having signed the "Libro de los animos", which arrived together with the
trophy, which had been signed by around a hundred Formula 1 fans from all
over the world during its long journey, Felipe Massa and Fernando Alonso
participated, together with Emilio Botin, the CEO of the famous Spanish
bank, as of this year sponsor of the Scuderia Ferrari, in the start of the
Becas Formula Santander, an initiative to collect money destined to a
scholarship.
The trophy, which left Boadilla del Monte (Madrid) on 24 February, travelled
25,000 kilometres, passing Santander, London, Monchengladbach (Germany),
Maranello and Sao Paulo. President Botin invited the participants during the
celebrations to read some of the book's pages, "because some of the thoughts
written down during the Flame's long journey are really emotional". Botin
also wanted to show his great admiration for the official drivers from the
team from Maranello, who are the best standard bearers of the uniqueness of
this University project.
-source: ferrari
