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 ánimos", 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, Mönchengladbach (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.