There were many debuts with the new teams: the fastest was the Monegasque from Ferrari, Lawson was the driver who lapped the most. The protagonists of the day were the Pirelli 2025 tyres
Charles Leclerc set the fastest time in the Abu Dhabi tests. The Monegasque stopped the clock at 1’23”510, putting his former teammate Carlos Sainz, making his debut with Williams, behind him. The lap time, however, is relatively important in tests, particularly those at the end of the season, which are held with single-seaters destined for “retirement”. The real protagonists of the day were the Pirelli tires for 2025. In these sessions the teams began to collect data and learn about the behavior of the tires for the next season. As mentioned previously, the fastest of the day was Leclerc, while the most workaholic was Liam Lawson (RB), who completed 159 laps.
the beginnings
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Sainz’s debut on the Williams was not the only debut on this day of testing. Esteban Ocon (tenth) rode the Haas for the first time, after missing the last GP with Alpine. First experience with the new team also for Sauber’s 2025 standard bearers, namely Nico Hulkenberg (fourth) and Gabriel Bortoleto (eighteenth). We will have to wait until next year, however, to see Lewis Hamilton in a Ferrari. For the Scuderia, in addition to Leclerc, his brother Arthur (fourteenth) and Antonio Fuoco (twenty-third) took to the track. Andrea Kimi Antonelli was forced to miss the morning session due to flu. However, the Italian driver was able to take to the track aboard the Mercedes in the afternoon, finishing in fifth place with 62 laps completed. Jack Doohan (eighth) was also seen again, having made his debut with Alpine in the last GP of the season, held in Abu Dhabi. Various opportunities also for reserve and academy drivers. Among these Felipe Drugovich (Aston Martin, twenty-first), Isack Hadjar (Red Bull, fifteenth) and Ayumu Iwasa (RB, sixth). Finally, it should be underlined that Yuki Tsunoda, as announced some time ago, carried out the tests aboard the Red Bull, finishing 17th with 127 laps completed.
the top 10
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These are the top 10 texts from Abu Dhabi 2024:
1) Charles Leclerc (Ferrari): 1.23.510;
2) Carlos Sainz (Williams): 1.23.635;
3) George Russell (Mercedes): 1,23,789;
4) Nico Hulkenberg (Sauber): 1.23.859;
5) Andrea Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes): 1.23.873;
6) Ayumu Iwasa (RB): 1.24.100;
7) Pato O’Ward (McLaren): 1.24.222;
8) Jack Doohan (Alpine): 1.24.268;
9) Paul Aron (Alpine): 1.24.275;
10) Esteban Ocon (Haas): 1.24.305.
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