Alonso Drives Santander-Livery Ferrari F60 at Paul Ricard

Fernando Alonso may have to wait until February 1st to drive Ferrari's 2010 challenger in the testing session at Valencia's Ricardo Tormo Circuit, but that isn't to mean the Spaniard will step at the wheel of a Ferrari for the first time.

According to the latest press photos released by Ferrari's new sponsor Grupo Santander, the 2-time world champion drove the team's 2009 car with the new livery for 2010 on the Paul Ricard circuit in France. Commonly used by the teams in the GP2 Series for testing their cars prior/after each season, the aforementioned venue was used by Santander and Ferrari for filming purposes.

As you all know, the Spanish banking giant signed a 5-year sponsorship deal with Ferrari in the late stages of last season, this being the first thing that signaled Fernando Alonso's switching from Renault to Ferrari from 2010 onwards. The sponsor has been backing the Spaniard since his initial Renault days, but was bound to McLaren for a 3-year period of time after Alonso moved to Woking.

However, the Spanish group confirmed that they will also continue to back McLaren Mercedes in the future, as their partnership with British ace Lewis Hamilton is of great marketing value for their UK market.

Returning to the Paul Ricard event, Spanish bank Santander's communications boss Juan Manuel Cendoya told the media that the photos were indeed taken for filming purposes and Ferrari agreed to their release for media use.

The F60 Alonso took to the track did not feature any visual changes – in terms of car's aerodynamics – but had its front and rear wings painted in white and having the Santander branding all over them.