This Tuesday is the end-of-season Formula 1 testing day in Abu Dhabi, as has been the custom for several years. There are two orders of business: on one hand, the development of Pirelli tires, and on the other hand, the testing of young drivers.
Only Alfa Romeo has not yet announced who will be in the cockpit of their cars, although it is expected that at least Théo Pourchaire will be one of the drivers in action. Red Bull has also not revealed who their rookie driver will be, while McLaren has not announced who will be “on duty” for Pirelli.
So far, it is known that AlphaTauri, Aston Martin, Ferrari, and Williams will have their two regular drivers in the tire test. Among the rookies, there are familiar faces from free practices and other tests, such as Felipe Drugovich (Aston Martin), Frederik Vesti (Mercedes), or Robert Shwartzman (Ferrari), as well as absolute newcomers: such as Franco Colapinto at Williams.
It should be noted that there are two sessions on the day: one in the morning and one in the afternoon. All teams must have at least one rookie in action, while the other car must be driven by a driver with a valid Super License in order to work for Pirelli. Haas brings its reserve driver, Pietro Fittipaldi, who meets the requirements despite not being a regular driver.
Lineup for F1 tests in Abu Dhabi:
Alfa Romeo F1 Team Stake
Drivers to be announced
Aston Martin Cognizant Aramco F1 Team
Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll (Pirelli test)
Felipe Drugovich (young driver test)
BWT Alpine F1 Team
Esteban Ocon (Pirelli test)
Jack Doohan (young driver test)
McLaren F1 Team
Pato O’Ward (young driver test)
Driver to be announced (Pirelli test)
Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team
Frederik Vesti (young driver test)
George Russell (Pirelli test)
MoneyGram Haas F1 Team
Oliver Bearman (young driver test)
Pietro Fittipaldi (Pirelli test)
Red Bull Racing:
Sergio Pérez (Pirelli test)
Driver to be announced (young driver test)
Scuderia AlphaTauri
Daniel Ricciardo (Pirelli test)
Yuki Tsunoda (Pirelli test)
Ayumu Iwasa (young driver test)
Scuderia Ferrari
Carlos Sainz (morning, Pirelli test)
Charles Leclerc (afternoon, Pirelli test)
Robert Shwartzman (young driver test)
Williams F1 Team
Alexander Albon and Logan Sargeant (Pirelli test)
Franco Colapinto and Zak O’Sullivan (young driver test)