Tire tests for next year and junior driver tests took place in Abu Dhabi.
Post-season testing took place in Abu Dhabi today. They had two parts. One car from each team was driven by a racing driver who tested the final versions of the tires for next year. In the second, a junior rider who had two sets of tires less. The rules define him as a driver who has a maximum of two races in F1. The definition also included several drivers who will become racing pilots next year: Sargeant, Piastri and also De Vries, who has only one race to his credit.
Drivers who transfer to another team were able to try out this year’s car of their future employer. Alonso drove with Aston Martin, Gasly with Alpine, Hülkenberg with Haas, De Vries with AlphaTauri, Piastri with McLaren.
Hülkenberg and Piastri stopped on the track. In the first case, there were no red flags, in the second they had to be raised. Debris on the track took care of the rest.
Ferrari took the first three places. Sainz set the fastest time, second was Leclerc in the morning and third was Švarcman in the second car.
The season for F1 on the track is definitely over. Formula 2 tests will start tomorrow in Abu Dhabi. Roman Staněk will drive the Trident team car.
The results
| P. | Rider | The team | Time | Loss | Kola | Tire. |
| 1 | Carlos Sainz Jr. | Ferrari | 1:25.245 | 65 | ||
| 2 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1:25.383 | 0.138 | 56 | |
| 3 | Robert Švarcman | Ferrari | 1:25.400 | 0.155 | 116 | |
| 4 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine | 1:25.689 | 0.444 | 130 | |
| 5 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | 1:25.845 | 0.600 | 76 | |
| 6 | Alexander Albon | Williams | 1:25.959 | 0.714 | 118 | |
| 7 | Logan Sargeant | Williams | 1:26.063 | 0.818 | 82 | |
| 8 | Nyck de Vries | AlphaTauri | 1:26.111 | 0.866 | 151 | |
| 9 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | 1:26.263 | 1.018 | 70 | |
| 10 | Liam Lawson | Red Bull | 1:26.281 | 1.036 | 111 | |
| 11 | Jack Doohan | Alpine | 1:26.297 | 1.052 | 111 | |
| 12 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin | 1:26.312 | 1.067 | 97 | |
| 13 | Sergio Perez | Red Bull | 1:26.333 | 1.088 | 88 | |
| 14 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren | 1:26.340 | 1.095 | 123 | |
| 15 | Felipe Drugovich | Aston Martin | 1:26.595 | 1.350 | 106 | |
| 16 | Valtteri Bottas | Alfa Romeo | 1:26.709 | 1.464 | 129 | |
| 17 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1:26.750 | 1.505 | 67 | |
| 18 | Lando Norris | McLaren | 1:26.890 | 1.645 | 115 | |
| 19 | Nico Hülkenberg | Haas | 1:27.000 | 1.755 | 110 | |
| 20 | Yuki Cunoda | Alpha Tauri | 1:27.123 | 1.878 | 135 | |
| 21 | Peter Fittipaldi | Haas | 1:27.172 | 1.927 | 99 | |
| 22 | Frederik Vesti | Mercedes | 1:27.216 | 1.971 | 124 | |
| 23 | George Russell | Mercedes | 1:27.240 | 1.995 | 73 | |
| 24 | Theo Pourchaire | Alfa Romeo | 1:27.591 | 2.346 | 106 |
Note: we will add tires later based on the Pirelli press release
Progress
14:10:
13:00: Sainz took over from Leclerc and goes into first place, meaning the Ferrari drivers are in the top three.
11:04: There are less than four hours left until the end of the tests. Leclerc is still in the lead, Alonso has the most laps on his account, who is approaching 100.
10:18: More red flags… this time for track debris.
10:00: Current standings and tea. The last column indicates the number of rounds.
9:50: Hülkenberg is coming back after stopping on the track… but lost approx. 2 hours.
9:11: Pérez drove the most laps so far – 66 laps, Albon the least – 20 laps. Piastri has 44 laps to his credit, Alonso has already driven 42 laps with Aston Martin.
9:05: Order:
Charles Leclerc: 1:25.383
Robert Švarcman: 1:26.067
Fernando Alonso: 1:26.312
Sergio Perez: 1:26.333
Pierre Gasly: 1:26.555
Valtteri Bottas: 1:26.709
Lando Norris: 1:26.890
Felipe Drugovich: 1:27.053
Alex Albon: 1:27.369
Liam Lawson: 1:27.490
Yuki Cunoda: 1:27.565
Jack Doohan: 1:27.569
Theo Pourchaire: 1:27.620
Pietro Fittipaldi: 1:27.690
Nyck de Vries: 1:27.805
Oscar Piastri: 1:27.892
Jack Doohan: 1:27.930
Nico Hulkenberg: 1:28.412
Logan Sargeant: 1:28.413
George Russell: 1:28.616
Frederick Vesti: 1:28.738
8:35: Piastri zastal na trati…
7:33: Questions: No, the tests are not broadcast anywhere, and there is no official live timing anywhere.
7:32: Nico Hülkenberg is also on the track today. Not an ideal debut, he stopped on the track. Before that, however, he managed to drive 27 laps.
7:28: At Aston Martin, they drive a “clean car” without Alonso’s sponsor stickers. Drugovich is in the second Aston, his cars have sponsor stickers. Alonso is still contractually bound to Alpine and is actually just a guest at Aston.
7:25: Tests are in full swing.
Equestrian formations
- Red Bull: Max Verstappen / Sergio Pérez a Liam Lawson
- Ferrari: Leclerc / Sainz and Robert Švarcman
- Mercedes: Lewis Hamilton / George Russell a Frederik Vesti
- Alpine: Pierre Gasly a Jack Doohan
- McLaren: Lando Norris to Oscar Piastri
- Alfa Romeo: Valtteri Bottas and Theo Pourchaire
- Aston Martin: Fernando Alonso / Lance Stroll to Felipe Drugovich
- Haas: Nico Hülkenberg to Pietro Fittipaldi
- AlphaTauri: Júki Cunoda a Nyck de Vries
- Williams: Alex Albon a Logan Sargeant
