Charles Leclerc set the pace ahead of former teammate Carlos Sainz as the 2024 Formula 1 season came to a conclusion with testing in Abu Dhabi.
All teams were allowed to run two cars at the one-day test, one for a rookie driver who has started no more than two grands prix, and one for tire testing purposes for Pirelli. Leclerc was taking part in the entire day for Ferrari and topped the times with a 1m23.510, beating Sainz on his first official outing for Williams by 0.125s.
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Sainz had taken part in a filming day for Williams on Monday at the Yas Marina Circuit, but that took place on demonstration tires and with limited mileage. Tuesday was his first chance to really drive the FW46 in anger, and the Spaniard enjoyed an extremely productive day, completing 146 laps and spending most of it at the top of the timing screens.
Of more importance to Sainz was the opportunity to feel the differences between the Williams and Ferrari cars, and get used to procedures and settings, allowing him to provide feedback for areas to work on over the winter. The same can be said of Nico Hulkenberg on his first appearance for Sauber, with the German fourth fastest with a 1m23.789 and one of multiple drivers to exceed 100 laps.
While Hulkenberg was getting used to a new way of working after leaving Haas, he ended up sandwiched between two drivers in familiar machinery as Mercedes pair George Russell and Kimi Antonelli were third and fifth respectively. Antonelli had been due to drive for the entire day but an illness had ruled him out of the final Formula 2 weekend and he was still recovering, so reserve driver Fred Vesti was behind the wheel for the morning, before Antonelli managed 62 laps after lunch.
Pato O’Ward had another strong outing for McLaren with the seventh fastest time and 116 laps under his belt, at a track where he struggled with his neck on his testing debut back in 2021. O’Ward drove for the entire day while McLaren split running in the tire test car between Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri.
Alpine pair Jack Doohan and Paul Aron also drove for the full day, with Aron making his debut in current machinery just over a week after being confirmed as an Alpine reserve driver for 2025. The Estonian – who was third in this year’s F2 championship – only received the nod to drive on Sunday night but ended up 0.007s off Doohan’s best time and completed 121 laps to his team-mate’s 137.
Rounding out the top ten was the driver Doohan replaced, with Esteban Ocon making his debut for Haas. The Frenchman had to wait 15 minutes before starting his running but managed over 100 laps and posted a best time of 1m24.305.
There were other notable performances from rookies Luke Browning and Ryo Hirakawa in 11th and 12th for Williams and Haas respectively, while Liam Lawson in 13th had the highest lap count with 159 on what could well prove to be his last outing for RB. RACER understands Lawson is set to replace Sergio Perez at Red Bull, once an agreement is reached regarding the latter’s departure.
That news will be a disappointment to Yuki Tsunoda who had his first outing in current Red Bull machinery and managed 127 laps during tire testing, ending up just 0.011s slower than Abu Dhabi Grand Prix winner Norris. The McLaren driver was also responsible for one of the few yellow flags during a remarkably clean day of running, spinning at Turn 14 in the morning session.
The only other interruptions were a Virtual Safety Car required to clear debris from Turn 7 mid-afternoon, and a spin for Isack Hadjar at the same corner before a very late red flag briefly interrupted proceedings for a barrier check in the final sector.
From an American perspective, Jak Crawford made his debut in the 2024 Aston Martin as part of the young driver testing and set a 1m24.997, edging out Felipe Drugovich in the sister car by 0.017s.
