Post-season test: Ferrari drivers take over the top three

Carlos Sainz finished the post-season Abu Dhabi test in first place. Charles Leclerc and Ferrari test driver Robert Schwartzman complete the top three.

What is the post-season test all about

Formula 1 used the usual test after the last race of the season for two purposes. First – to give young drivers some mileage with the outgoing equipment, and second – to test Pirelli’s tires for next year.

The rules state that one of the cars should only use 2023 tires, while the other should be driven by a rookie. The second car has a choice to use 2022 tires or next year’s compound.

Sainz leads Ferrari 1-2-3

What is interesting is that the top three drivers were separated by only 0.155 seconds. Sainz was on duty for the first half of the day, with Leclerc taking over in the afternoon.

Pierre Gasly made his debut for Alpine with a time that was about 0.4 seconds slower than the fastest out there. He did his fastest lap with no more than 10 minutes to spare.

Fifth, behind Gasly, is his ex-teammate and now double World Champion Max Verstappen. He took over from Perez in the afternoon. Then comes the Williams duo. Albon was only 0.1 seconds faster than newcomer Sargeant, as they logged combined 200 laps.

Behind them, in eight, there is Nyck de Vries, another debutant for the next season. He amassed the highest lap count for a driver with 151 laps around Yas Marina Bay. Although he will be a de facto driver for Alpha Tauri in 2023, he filled the “rookie” spot, to be given maximum flexibility. Also, the Dutch driver was loaned out to the Scuderia, because his Mercedes contract is still not over.

The juniors have been impressive

Further down the road, there are Lance Stroll and Liam Lawson. The Red Bull junior and Nyck de Vries were two drivers to spin at turn 5. The son of MotoGP legend Mick Doohan – Jack Doohan finished 11th for Alpine, completing 111 laps, and sitting roughly 1 second behind the leader.

Fernando Alonso, who said this test is as important as the pre-season ones, finished in P12. He shared a car with Lance Stroll but ran with no sponsors and black overalls since he is still technically an Alpine employee.

Sergio Perez, who ran the morning session in one of the Red Bull cars, finished 13th. Oscar Piastri, one of the most controversion figures of 2022, placed 14th. He logged 123 laps, which is pretty healthy, considering the fact that he was the reason for one of the two Red flags. The McLaren stopped on track, and it was no error from Piastri, himself.

Formula 2 champion Felipe Drugovich had a rather uneventful session. The Brazilian placed 15th, with 106 laps to his name. Ex-teammates Bottas and Hamilton were 16th and 17th, followed by Lando Norris, and miracle-boy Nico Hulkenberg.

The German suffered a technical issue, which robbed him from on-track action. Nevertheless, he was able to do 110 laps, in contrast to the 99 laps run by Pietro Fittipaldi, Haas’ test driver.

The two Haas guys were split by Yuki Tsunoda. The last three places were occupied by Mercedes junior Frederick Vesti, George Russel, and Alfa Romeo Sauber’s Theo Pourchaire.

The importance of the post-season test

This test is especially important for drivers who will switch teams, or are going to make a debut in 2023. Next year, they will only be able to put in 1.5 days’ worth of testing before the season officially starts in Bahrain.

As one of these drivers, Fernando Alonso made sure to get the most out of his few days at Aston Martin. He was the first driver on track both yesterday (when he had his seat fitting), and today, for the action itself.