It was on February 5, 2001 that Flavio Braitore revealed that a talented young driver that he personally managed, one Fernando Alonso, would be stepping up to a full-time Formula One race seat with Minardi in 2001 alongside Brazil's Tarso Marques.
Having completed just two seasons of karting and one year in F3000, the then-19 year old Spanish talent had already been given some testing experience at Briatore's Benetton team to ensure he qualified for the requisite super-licence.
While Alonso failed to score any points in his maiden season, he was praised for impressive performances in the uncompetitive Minardi and was duly picked up by Briatore for the newly-named Renault team in 2003, with world titles following in 2005 and 2006.
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