McLaren's Zak Brown grants Alonso's father a sensational drive in Ayrton Senna's MP4/4B
After the season-closing Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, two-time world champion Fernando Alonso enjoyed a special day with his father José Luis and McLaren CEO Zak Brown.
Ferrari's outgoing driver Carlos Sainz was granted a special day by the Scuderia, as the Italian outfit bid farewell to Spanish driver in memorable style by hosting a track day for him and his rally driver father, Carlos Sainz Senior.
The day saw the 30-year-old driver and the his two-time rally champion father get behind the wheel of the squad's 2022 car, the F1-75, sharing the Fiorano track betweem them.
Just days after the two Sainz enjoyed their own special day at the Ferrari's in-house test track, two-time F1 champion Fernando Alonso and his father José Luis came together at MotorLand Aragon for a unique family moment of their own.
The day was organized by McLaren CEO Zak Brown, who brought a host of cars to the Aragon circuit, including Ayton Senna's 1990 McLaren MP4/5B, Jaguar XJR-10 and a Holden Commodore.
The day saw Alonso offer his father José Luis a memorable opportunity to drive Senna's iconic machine, and both were clad in period 'Senna' overalls for the occasion.
Commenting on the day, Brown added: "Season’s done, so time for some fun on track in Spain with [Fernando Alonso] in my 1976 - Australian Sports Sedan Championship winning DeKon Monza, 5 x IMSA-winning 1989 TWR Jaguar XJR-10, and my 2011 Holden Commodore that won the Bathurst 1000 with my team at the time, Walkinshaw Racing."
Reflecting on the early part of his career, Alonso said to CNN: “The weekends were probably a nightmare for (my parents) because they needed to take the car, they needed to drive maybe 10 hours with me asleep in the back and then have a race somewhere – and then come home because they needed to work and I needed to go to school.
“I needed to do all the exams. I missed a lot of lessons and I needed to recover. I needed to recover in the back of the car reading books, so that was my school probably."
The Spaniard made his debut at the pinnacle of motorsport with Minardi in 2001 which was followed by a year that he spent with Renault as a test driver.
Alonso's career overviewThe Oviedo-born driver returned to the sport as a full-time race driver in 2003, clinching his first F1 victory in that season. With Renault coming up with an innovative car for the 2005 F1 season, Alonso secured his first F1 title, beating McLaren's Kimi Räikkönen. The next season saw the Spaniard receive fierce competition from Ferrari's Michael Schumacher, but he was able to add a second F1 title to his achievements.
Although he joined McLaren in the following season, he returned to Renault for the 2008 and 2009 F1 season before heading to Ferrari. Despite securing several sensational victories with the fabled Maranello-based outfit and getting close to further F1 titles in 2010 and 2012, he elected to part ways with the team to join forces with McLaren again in 2015.
Following a difficult period at the Woking-based outfit that saw McLaren struggle with its new engine partner, Honda, Alonso decided to leave Formula One at the end of the 2018 season before returning to the pinnacle of motorsport with Alpine for the 2021 season. The two-time F1 world champion left the Enstone-based team after just a single season to join Aston Martin.
