The 2024 Formula 1 season is over, but the engines continue to roar in Abu Dhabi. Numerous drivers completed test drives in their old and new cars on Tuesday (CET): including Nico Hülkenberg, whose first outing for Audi/Sauber went well.
Carlos Sainz completed the Formula 1 test drives in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday in second place overall.
The ex-Ferrari driver turned the second fastest lap in his Williams and recorded a time of 1:23.635 minutes on the 25 Pirelli tires.
For Sainz, it wasn’t his first outing for his new employer. On Monday he was able to complete his first kilometers with the FW46 as part of a film day. For him it was not just a chassis change, but also an engine change, from Ferrari to Mercedes power.
His previous Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc finished 0.125 seconds ahead of Sainz. His lap time: 1:23.510 minutes.
Leclerc had to watch as Sainz caused a little moment of shock in the Williams when he braked at the pit entrance in the evening hours and stopped there with his wheels smoking. The scene ended lightly and ultimately had no consequences.
Hülkenberg achieved a strong fourth place
Behind Leclerc and Sainz, George Russell came third in his Mercedes (1:23.789), followed by Nico Hülkenberg, who achieved a strong fourth place with 1:23.856 minutes.
Tuesday was also special for the German because he was able to try out the green Sauber for the first time, which he will drive in 2025. Hülkenberg completed more than 100 laps – like 17 of the 23 drivers who were on the last official track day of the season.
Among these, there was a rather unexpected guest in Abu Dhabi: Mercedes newcomer Andrea Kimi Antonelli!
Lewis Hamilton’s successor in the Silver Arrows shared the day with Mercedes test driver Frederik Vesti (22nd/+1.649), but still drove 62 laps in the afternoon and ended up fifth in the classification behind Hülkenberg.
The weekend before, Antonelli had to cancel his last two races in Formula 2 due to illness. It was all the more surprising that Hamilton’s successor was suddenly in the W14 on Tuesday morning. Apparently he was doing so well that it was spontaneously decided to give him half a day in the F1 car