McLaren signed off 2006 in style, as its 2007 driver pairing, Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso, ran together for the first time.

As the news was still sinking in that Renault had relented, and released the Spaniard from his contract early, thereby allowing him one day of testing with his new team, Alonso was pounding around Jerez in the MP4-21, albeit devoid of all sponsorship logos.

Security around the Spaniard's debut was intense, the eleventh hour agreement that led to the change of heart clearly included all manner of stipulations, such as the lack of logos, a plain white helmet, overalls devoid of badges, and even a strict 'no talking to the media' policy. Indeed, Alonso's times weren't even shown on the official timesheets, and it is only McLaren's own data that indicated how good his maiden run was - as he completed 94 laps, finishing third quickest, just 0.250s behind pace-setter Lewis Hamilton.

McLaren CEO, Martin Whitmarsh, summed up the day, as he looks forward to what could be a successful new season, if today's performance is anything to go by.

"Today has seen the completion of the 2006 test programme with an encouraging session in Jerez. The primary focus of the three pre-Christmas tests has been the learning process between ourselves and Bridgestone. We have been able to gather valuable data on how to get the best out of the Bridgestone Potenzas and we are currently feeding this back into the MP4-22 programme.

"The drivers have also been working through various development programmes for the MP4-22, such as suspension, aero and set-up work. With Lewis we have also spent time on activities such as putting him out in traffic so that he builds experience of running with other cars."

Clearly aware of the media's need of a comment, and comment, from their new star, McLaren later issued this brief and somewhat prosaic quote from Alonso.

"I'm pleased that I was able to drive the McLaren Mercedes Formula 1 car earlier than expected and would like to thank Renault and Flavio Briatore for agreeing to this.

"I'm really excited about the future," added the Spaniard, "and would like to wish everybody a merry Christmas and a happy new year."

Splitting the two McLarens was Heikki Kovalainen, but it was a difficult day for the young Finn, who was the cause of two red flags following mechanical failures, one just before lunch, the other in the late afternoon. Kovalainen and team mate Giancarlo Fisichella continued to focus on tyre testing in order to evaluate the wear through long runs.

"We had a good final day of testing," said chief test engineer, Christian silk. "We completed lots of miles once again and the gearbox seems very reliable up to now, which is always satisfying for a new part. We are on schedule and we are now ready to start working on the new car.

"It's been a good day for me today," said Kovalainen, "and my results seem interesting. We need to analyse the data in order to be ready in January to start testing with the new car. These last sessions gave us a good view on different areas such as the tyres and the new gear box".

"This was a good conclusion to a productive session," added Fisichella. "The data we gathered will definitely help us for our work in 2007. I am now more comfortable with the new tyres. I am quite satisfied with our week."