Images: Sergio Betancort
The Italian Ferrari team, with Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa at the helm, is already concentrated on the island of Lanzarote. The plane carrying a good part of the team landed at Terminal 1 of Guacimeta Airport at around two in the afternoon. Ferrari has chosen Lanzarote and more specifically Club La Santa as the base for the physical preparation of its drivers.
The expedition arrived at Club La Santa after two in the afternoon. Ferrari announced yesterday, in a press release, that they would be doing physical preparation in the Canary Islands, without specifying the island or the place. Rumors about the possibility that it was on the island of Lanzarote were gaining strength.
On the morning of this Wednesday, the crossed information that arrived, given the silence of the "il cavallino rampante" team and Club La Santa, suggested that the expedition had arrived last night. Information that was gradually denied until the precise time was found.
The arrival of Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa has been preparing for more than a week. A Ferrari team worker was planning the training, routes, meals and other logistics of the Italian team. In addition, some of the people who regularly train at La Santa facilities say they saw a Ferrari truck last week. Inside was all the sports equipment they will use during their stay in Lanzarote, as well as the bicycles they will use for training.
Officially, the date on which the athletes and the rest of the companions will leave Lanzarote is unknown, but it will be before February 3. That day is the one chosen by the team to present the new Formula 1 with which they will start the 2012 season, at the Maranello facilities.
Lanzarote and specifically Club La Santa is a regular destination for Jenson Button, a McLaren driver, during the holidays, and he has been one of the people who has spoken wonders of the climate and facilities that the Italian team will now enjoy. To this visit we must add the one made a few weeks ago by Dani Pedrosa, a MotoGP rider, thus turning Lanzarote into the epicenter of motorsport in Spain during the month of January.
The Ferrari team has requested maximum privacy from Club La Santa, and that the training of Felipe Massa and Fernando Alonso take place in the strictest privacy. They do not want there to be distractions just a few weeks before the start of the official competition and have ruled out making any type of public appearance.
Many were the curious and fans who came to the airport at noon this Wednesday. There they could take pictures with the two stars of the Italian Ferrari team.
