Fernando Alonso 'keeps Ayrton Senna history alive' with early running in Spain

Fernando Alonso has taken to the track ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix, giving some iconic cars from his personal collection a run-out, including a pair that were originally raced by Ayrton Senna. 

Many drivers will often tell you that if they could spend all of their time at a track, they would. Max Verstappen is a prime example of this, competing in GTs and taking on an epic 100-kart challenge at Silverstone next week. 

Alonso is another such example, with experiences in IndyCar, the World Endurance Championship, and the Dakar Rally giving him a far more rounded experience than any other driver on the current Formula 1 grid. 

Not content with only facing a run of potentially 11 races in 14 weekends to round out the F1 season, Alonso has taken to the track in Barcelona ahead of Madrid's first hosting of the Spanish Grand Prix, where he took some truly special cars from his personal collection for a spin. While only a patch on McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown's collection, Alonso's garage is valued at an estimated £32 million. 

On show at Barcelona was an assortment of F1, DTM and GT, but the stars of the show were Senna's 1984 Toleman and the 1989 McLaren MP4-5 - a car which retains the wide nose of the dominant MP4-4, but can be differentiated from the 1990 MP4-5b by its wider sidepods. 

Writing on social media, Alonso said: "A very special day at Circuit de Barcelona, enjoying some of my collection cars where they really belong: on the track.
F1, historic, GTs AND DTM. Top day. Because collecting is also preserving, enjoying and keeping that history alive."

Alonso is yet to confirm whether he will remain with Aston Martin beyond the current season, with his deal up at the end of the year. That means that this weekend's race in Madrid could be his final F1 outing on home soil.