F1 is done with the 2024 season after the Abu Dhabi test as drivers reflect on the day panned out, with Pirelli noting about the 2025 compounds as well.
While the day was largely for Pirelli to understand and finalise the 2025 compounds, the F1 drivers took it to learn more about the car and how the new tyres will sync to start early on next season. Even though tyre testing is marked low-key thing to do, it is still a big learning.
For the likes of Lando Norris, Oscar Piastri, George Russell and Charles Leclerc, it was more of the same after a hectic F1 season. At the same time, the likes of Yuki Tsunoda, Carlos Sainz, Nico Hulkenberg and Esteban Ocon got taste of a new machinery from what they were driving in 2024.
It was a headstart for Sainz, Hulkenberg and Ocon, but for Tsunoda, it was a chance to showcase how he behaves driving a Red Bull. The Japanese driver readily felt at home. Even though he has an outside chance against Liam Lawson – who did a marathon run in the Visa Cash App RB car – it was still good to show himself.
The day was valuable also for Gabriel Bortoleto to get his first taste of a F1 car and his new team ahead of debut, while Jack Doohan completed a long run to build upon his debut race. Much like the Brazilian, his F2 rival Paul Aron had his first time too before starting out as a reserve at Alpine.
Even for Andrea Kimi Antonelli, it was an early start to his time at Mercedes. The likes of Pato O’Ward, Felipe Drugovich, Isack Hadjar, Ayumu Iwasa, Jak Crawford, Luke Browning, Antonio Fucoco, Arthur Leclerc, Ryo Hirakawa and Frederik Vesti added more mileage in a F1 car against their name.
On the tyre front, Pirelli managed to collect more data to finalise the 2025 compounds. They have already homologated the tyres, but they are still to fix the number of compounds. They are still checking out if C1 and C6 will be viable to be used at certain circuits.
Lando Norris: “I enjoyed being back on track for the morning supporting Pirelli with the development of next year’s tyres. It’s always a useful session to do and it’s great to work closely with them on it. It’s now time to relax after such an incredible end to the season, the team deserve some well-earned time off before we go again next year.”
Oscar Piastri: “It was nice to get out on track for one final time this year. It was good to work with Pirelli, getting valuable data for them on next year’s tyres. Thank you again to the team for everything this year and for what they were able to do for us to win the Championship. Now for some rest before a busy 2025.”
Pato O’Ward: “It was mega to be back in a Formula 1 car. I loved every second of being on track – it’s always a great day when you get to drive one. I learned a lot from the full day of running. Getting more experience on track is always a positive and we covered a variety of things, pushing through long and shorter Quali-style runs, as well as practise starts. It’s been so cool to be part of the McLaren Formula 1 Team alongside my Arrow McLaren duties, so I want to say thank you to Zak, Andrea and the entire team for their faith in me. I’m excited to see what everyone can achieve in 2025.”
Yuki Tsunoda: “The Abu Dhabi post season test has been so fun today, it’s the first time in the past four years that I have driven a different car. You can physically feel why the RB20 has been fighting for a Championship this year, it feels like a very different car to drive. We have had a very proactive day today so I am really happy with that. There is still a lot of learning that I have to do but the team have done a great job of preparing such a great run today, it’s been such an enjoyable atmosphere in the garage.
“I feel like the car suits my driving style and I haven’t struggled much at all to adapt, even on the long runs I have been able to run consistently today and was able to feel the limitations of the car which if you don’t have confidence in the car you are unable to test. I am happy more than ever at the moment and making sure that the Team have the information that they require from each run is the most important thing to get out of today.”
Isack Hadjar: “I have completed lots of laps at the post season testing today. I had a really good feel for the first two runs, which consisted of a bit of performance running and some long runs as well. Testing is tough for the Team and the day is very full on, we are learning a lot and I actually got to do my first practice start which was so fun. Straight away I felt very comfortable in the RB20.
“I have now done four FP1 session, but they are only every four months so each time you try not to forget how the car feels. We have provided plenty of information to give to the Team and the engineers, so I am pleased with the work we have done and I hope I get more opportunities like this in the future.”
Nico Hulkenberg: “The first day together is now behind us and I think today has been a productive and positive start – we were able to take care of the basics and begin working together as a team. It was generally very useful to get a first impression of the car. I’m looking forward to building on this momentum in the new year and really diving into the work ahead of us. I would like to thank everyone for the warm welcome and I can‘t wait to get back to this in 2025.”
Gabriel Bortoleto: “Today marked my first day as a Formula One driver – it’s an amazing feeling. I think overall we had a positive testing session – I put my focus on adapting to the car, learning as much as possible, getting used to the engineers, to the mechanics, everyone in the team. It’s safe to say that we have seen a positive first day in my new role. Formula One cars are so much quicker, it’s definitely very different from Formula 2 obviously, but I’m looking forward to this new chapter. I am even more proud to be part of this team now and excited to see what we can achieve together next year.”
Liam Lawson: “It was a good day, we decided to do the most laps out of anybody so we completed a lot, which was cool; probably the most I’ve done in the car at once. You always learn more on these days as you effectively do three race distances. With the limited number of races I’ve done, it’s helpful to do a day like this. It’s not often that you get through the full programme you plan on doing, so credit to the Team today, they were very organised. When you get to run as many tyres as we have today, it’s always exciting. It was a nice way to end the season and head into the winter break.”
Ayumu Iwasa: “Today was a very big experience from the start and I learnt a lot. I was also wanting to do my very best for the Team and for its future in the 2025 season. I received good feedback from the Team that they were happy with how everything went today, so I am very glad about that as well.
“Even for the performance running I was able to do quite decent laps so overall I was actually quite pleased with my performance. As the day went on I felt more and more confident in the car and feel like I am really getting used to the feel of an F1 car. Hopefully next time that I get another opportunity to drive again, my performance will be even better.”
Esteban Ocon: “I am very excited, it is the first debrief of the day. It has been awesome, really, to get the first feel today with the team. Getting to know everyone, yesterday, being able to have the first taste with the car today, I really enjoyed. It was very needed because we have done a lot of work today, gone through a lot of different plans and run styles as well, with some shorter runs and some longer runs.
“I got to learn a lot, obviously with my new team and that’s been fantastic, because we are already one step ahead of where we should have been, if we didn’t do that day today. So, yeah, can’t be more happy and we will keep the work going over Christmas to definitely be ready when we turn up in Bahrain for the first time.”
Ryo Hirakawa: “I finished the Young Drivers’ Test. It was really incredible experience for me as I did this, the other car testing last week, so it was kind of crazy week for me. Yeah, we did a lot of laps. Obviously, my body is sore everywhere, but, yeah, I think we did a testing, collected a lot of data. Hopefully, I can contribute a lot to the team. I just want to say thanks to all of the team to give me this opportunity. I was just honoured to drive this quick car, so, yeah, hopefully more to come. Thanks again.”
Felipe Drugovich: “It’s always great to have the opportunity to drive the AMR24 and have the chance to build on what I have already learnt this season. We got plenty of running completed during the day, it was very physical but enjoyable. We were testing the 2025 Pirelli tyres, and they are slightly different to this year’s compounds, but it was nice that I was able to get a feel for them and hopefully it will help the team with data to look at over the winter ahead of next season.”
Jak Crawford: “I’m really happy with how testing went today, it was a lot of fun. It’s been a while since I’ve been in an F1 car and it was my first time in the AMR24 so I spent the first few laps getting up to speed and learning everything. We were able to get all the important runs done today and I was able to complete a lot of laps and get some data for the team. Thank you to Aston Martin Aramco for the opportunity, it’s been a positive day, and I look forward to the chance of getting back into the seat of the F1 car again soon.”
Jack Doohan: “It’s been a very solid day with over 750km recorded in the car. It was a very long but productive day, but good to be in the car again, especially coming in fresh off my first Grand Prix weekend. I’m very pleased with our work, we sampled the 2025 Pirelli tyres with lots of interesting data and feedback to give. Huge credit to the mechanics and engineers who did an exceptional job today.
“It’s been a long season for everyone so I’m grateful and thankful for their efforts on this final track day of the season. Now I am looking forward to going through the data and taking all these valuable learnings from the past week into next year.”
Paul Aron: “I have had a very good day in Abu Dhabi driving a Formula 1 car for the first time, so thanks to the team for this opportunity. Like every driver that drives a Formula 1 car for the first time, I now realise just how quick these cars are and it was a lot of fun driving the A524 today. From a fitness point of view, there was a lot to get used to but, in the end, everything was fine on that front.
“Even with 121 laps on the board, I wanted to do more. We managed to go through our entire run plan. The engineers were happy, the pace seemed good, so I think it was a successful day overall. There is a lot to learn and I already look forward to 2025 in my role as Reserve Driver and continuing my development.”
Antonio Fuoco: “It was important for me to have the opportunity to get back behind the wheel of a current generation Formula 1 car, having driven the F1-75 a few weeks ago at Fiorano. Doing so in Abu Dhabi, just a couple of days after the Grand Prix allows for particularly meaningful comparisons, because we managed to acquire data in similar climatic and track conditions.
“For me, spending so much time in the simulator, it was also useful to be able to work on correlation: tomorrow I will be back in Maranello where we will check some of the data from here. Then there will be a short break for the Christmas holiday after which I’m very enthusiastic about getting back to work on 2025, when we want to be even more competitive.”
Arthur Leclerc: “It was great to be back in the car just a few days on from when I drove it in the first free practice session. Today, I was able to enjoy driving the SF-24 much more and we worked on a pretty busy programme, trying various things and gathering data that we will analyse in the coming days.
“Once again, it was special to have Charles across the garage from me and also to be on track with so many really good drivers. Next up is another week working in Maranello before a short break for the end of the year. Then it will be time to start again for what I expect will be a very busy 2025, but let’s hope it will be a very rewarding year.”
Luke Browning: “Here we are, the day is done and dusted. On Friday, I had my first session in FP1 was a surreal experience to have my first feeling of a F1 weekend. Now I had a whole day to drive in the test and experience a little bit the car. It was fantastic to push it to the edge, yeah, the pace was good. A massive thank you to James, Williams, everyone back at Grove, I am living my dream here. Looking forward to hopefully drive the car again soon.”
Mario Isola, Pirelli: “This was a very useful test, being able to see the entire new range of compounds that have been homologated for next season in use, with the exception of the C1. Track conditions were very good, very similar to those experienced last Sunday during the final Grand Prix and with not too dissimilar temperatures. We gathered a lot of data which will now be analysed very carefully by our engineers and those from the teams to continue to prepare as thoroughly as possible for next season.
“From a first preliminary analysis, we can say that the new compounds have proved to offer greater mechanical resistance, which therefore leads to a reduction in the level of abrasion on the tread. As for overheating, we knew it would be difficult to see significant improvements, as we ran almost entirely in sunny conditions, unlike over the race weekend. Another important topic was to check the positioning of the compounds within the 2025 range: from what we saw today, we can say that the difference in performance between the C2, C3, C4 and C5 is more in line with our goals, namely to have a gap of around half a second in between each of them.
“As for the brand new C6, we saw on this track, with its very demanding final section, especially in terms of traction, that degradation even on a first flying lap is quite pronounced. Now we will carry out a careful analysis of the data to identify which tracks will be best suited to its possible use on a race weekend.”
Here’s how F1 Abu Dhabi testing panned out
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