Paris (AFP)

The Spaniard Fernando Alonso, who will return to Formula 1 next season after two seasons of absence, drove a Renault F1 team car during a promotional shoot on Tuesday at the Barcelona circuit (Spain).

Alonso, 39, took his place aboard the RS20, the single-seater which participates in the 2020 season of the F1 World Championship and which is normally entrusted to the Australian Daniel Ricciardo and the French Esteban Ocon.

The Spaniard, who won his two F1 world champion titles (2005, 2006) with Renault, was limited to 100 kilometers of driving, as provided for in the regulations, because this session was officially intended to film a promotional spot.

"I was only able to do 100 kilometers, but it was really very special for me to get back into an F1," he said after this session in a live on Instagram.

"It was a good opportunity for me to feel the car (...) Getting back to the speed of an F1, it's not easy, but I felt that I was improving lap after lap (...) ) This car has potential, as it shows in the race, but there is still room for improvement, ”he noted.

"We all have great ambitions for next season, but we have to keep our feet on the ground (...), we are optimistic, we have a lot of talents in this team, we have everything we need to make a good season 2021 ", hoped Alonso.

- "Comfortable" -

In the statement released by his new team, the Spanish driver, who had not been in an F1 since April 2019 and a test session for McLaren in Bahrain, admitted that he was "at ease with Renault": "A lot of people here today were already working as mechanics in my day. Everything is a little easier when you know the faces and the team."

This return to an F1 seat also corresponded for Alonso to the twenty years of his first laps in F1, on the same Barcelona circuit, at the wheel at the time of a Benetton.

Alonso made a commitment last July for a period that has not been specified with Renault, whose single-seaters will run from next season under the name of Alpine, the brand of sports cars of the French manufacturer.

Alonso has not appeared in the F1 championship since the 2018 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix driving a McLaren, at the end of his 17th season in the premier class where he achieved a total of 32 successes.

Since leaving F1, he has won two editions of the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the title of world endurance champion with Toyota.

Alonso also took part in the Dakar, a legendary rally-raid, where he finished 13th in 2020, and the 500 miles of Indianapolis in IndyCar (retirement in 2017, 21st in 2020).

./jr/chc

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