Alonso and Sainz met with fans in Barcelona.

      Yesterday, Spanish Formula 1 drivers met with their fans in the center of Barcelona, who, according to the local press, showed considerable interest in this event.

      Interestingly, among the thousands of people gathered were mostly young people, a significant part of whom were born after Fernando Alonso debuted in Formula 1 or even took the podium for the first time at the Barcelona-Catalunya circuit. This happened on May 4, 2003, when the future two-time world champion was already competing for the Renault factory team and took 2nd place in the Spanish Grand Prix, losing only to Michael Schumacher.

      Yesterday's meeting of the riders with the Spanish fans took place at the Plaza de Catalunya, one of the central squares of Barcelona, where, according to tradition, a very spacious fan zone was organized, and lasted three hours. Of course, the audience was prepared for it, many came with flags, portraits of Alonso and homemade posters.

      They say someone even climbed onto the roofs of neighboring houses, because songs and chants dedicated to their idol could be heard from there. In general, the atmosphere was more like a rock concert.

      The fans' interest is clearly fueled by the recent news that Alonso has become the ambassador of the circuit in Barcelona. It seems that the audience is not at all embarrassed by the fact that Fernando still has no points on his account - she continues to believe in her idol and hopes that together with the Aston Martin F1 team he will be able to change the situation very soon. Of course, everyone wants it to happen this weekend.

      Carlos Sainz, the Williams driver, appeared in front of the public after Alonso and was met with an equally noisy and enthusiastic reception. According to the Marca newspaper, he also has a very large army of fans in Spain, who every year in a matter of hours buy out tickets to the Sainz grandstand, located at the 12th turn of the Catalan ring. This was also the case last April, partly because these 3,500 tickets are offered at a special price, and the price also includes a baseball cap with Carlos' personal logo and a flag.

      By the way, Sainz came to this fan meeting after chatting with Williams fans in his team's fan zone, which operates all week, from Monday to Sunday, on the Passeig de Gracia, one of Barcelona's central thoroughfares adjacent to the Plaza de Catalunya. And tonight, James Voules, the head of the British team, will answer questions from the public there.

      Alonso and Sainz were not the only representatives of Spanish motorsport at yesterday's fan meeting – Pepe Marti and Mari Boya, who compete in Formula 2 and Formula 3, also took the stage.