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The long 2025 Formula 1 season
officially concluded today, having started with pre-season testing in
Bahrain back on February 26, and ending with a final day of testing on the
Yas Marina circuit after the season-closing Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. This most
recent test involved not only the regular race drivers, running the 2026
tyres on adapted mule cars, but also 10 young drivers – who had the chance
to drive the existing 2025 cars.
From 09:00 local time, the cars took
to the track, after the presentation in the paddock of Pirelli’s new tyre
graphics that will feature on the sidewalls during the coming seasons.
The majority of the mule cars, equipped with the current DRS system
rather than the new active aerodynamics for next year, ran with a speed
limit fixed at 300kph to reduce downforce and collect data that will be more
representative of 2026. Only mule cars already equipped with next year’s
‘straight line mode’ at the front were allowed to run without speed limits,
while respecting the SLM activation zones put in place by the FIA along the
track.
For the mule car test, the teams had at their disposal one set
of C2 tyres and three sets each of C3, C4, and C5 – as well as a set of
Intermediates. There were no prescribed run plans, with each team free to
use the tyres however they chose. The best time of the day was set by Kimi
Antonelli (Mercedes) with a time of 1’25’’170. Second was McLaren’s Oscar
Piastri in 1’26’’099 while Lewis Hamilton was third for Ferrari in
1’26’’138, all on the C5.
The young drivers (officially defined as
drivers who have taken part in no more than two grands prix) instead got to
drive the 2025 cars from the season that has just finished. They had at
their disposal two sets of C3 and C5, four sets of C4, and two sets each of
Intermediate and Full wet. The fastest time of the day was set by Jak
Crawford (Aston Martin) with a time of 1’23’’766 on the C5.
Pirelli
Motorsport Director Mario Isola said: “This test day was an excellent
opportunity for all the teams to try out the definitive 2026 tyres, with the
compounds set to be formally confirmed on Monday. During the development
tests organised by Pirelli throughout this season, the teams individually
ran different versions of the prototypes, in various phases of development –
from just the new construction to a range of options for the same compound.
Today was the first time that they had the entire range at their disposal on
track, which gave them the chance to more fully understand the
characteristics of the new tyres. By using the same mule cars as during the
development tests, with the same speed limits, teams were easily able to
compare the data captured in Yas Marina with that from the individual test
days over the last few months. For our engineers, this test was fundamental
to confirm the performance gaps between the compounds and the degradation
levels, which has been the focus of our work throughout the year. Analysing
the new tyres, which have a smaller footprint against the surface, has also
allowed us to check their exposure to graining and overheating: two effects
that can potentially increase due to the smaller surface area. Now we have
to wait until the end of January to see these latest tyres in action at the
Barcelona test on the new generation of cars.”
During the nine hours
of running that concluded at 18:00 local time, a total of 2,648 laps were
covered by all 20 cars, equalling 13,984 kilometres. The drivers who racked
up the most laps were Kimi Antonelli (157 laps), Frederik Vesti (145 laps) e
Pierre Gasly (144 laps).
The young drivers taking part in today’s
test were: Pato O’Ward (McLaren), Frederik Vesti (Mercedes), Ayumu Iwasa
(Red Bull), Dino Beganovic (Ferrari), Luke Browning (Williams), Arvid
Lindblad (Racing Bulls), Jak Crawford (Aston Martin), Ryo Hirakawa (Haas F1
Team), Paul Aron (Kick Sauber) and Kush Maini (Alpine).
The regular
race drivers were: Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri (McLaren), Kimi Antonelli
(Mercedes), Isack Hadjar (Red Bull), Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton
(Ferrari), Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon (Williams), Liam Lawson (Racing
Bulls), Stoffel Vandoorne (Aston Martin), Ollie Berman and Esteban Ocon
(Haas F1 Team), Gabriel Bortoleto and Nico Hulkenberg (Kick Sauber), as well
as Pierre Gasly (Alpine). |
