Algarve, Portugal – Ahead of this weekend’s Vodafone A1GP Algarve action, A1GP drivers took time out to get up close to some of the aquatic residents of Portugal, interacting with dolphins at the Zoomarine Theme Park in Albufeira.

A1 Team Portugal’s Filipe Albuquerque and Armando Parentewere joined by Brazil’s female rookie driver Bia Figueiredo, France’s Nicolas Prost, Italy’s Vitantonio Liuzzi, Malaysia’s Fairuz Fauzy and Aaron Lim, New Zealand’s Earl Bamber and Switzerland’s Neel Jani for this once in a lifetime experience.

After a brief introduction to the park and the conservation work done by Zoomarine the drivers made a quick change into wetsuits and took to the water to get up close and personal to some of the trained bottlenose dolphins. It was a unique way to get to know and interact with these extraordinary ambassadors of the oceans. Located in a beautiful, tranquil environment, hidden away from the main park the drivers had the chance to take part in some of the basic training techniques with the dolphins.

A1 Team Portugal’s Filipe Albuquerque said: “It was another great event with A1GP. The dolphins are amazing animals. Their skin is really nice to touch and it’s great to play with them. They are always interacting with you and don’t forget you which is nice. It’s unbelievable how fast they go from one side of the pool to the other. Every country we go to we see its culture. Here in Portugal we are near the sea so have a lot of dolphins; if you rent a boat you can .....