Formula 1 | Pirelli, a test similar to a Grand Prix in Abu Dhabi

On Tuesday the formula 1 underwent a further test session on the circuit Yas Marina, ad Abu Dhabi, with all ten teams involved on the track with two cars each. The program was divided into two parts. One single-seater was reserved for young drivers to gain experience behind the wheel of a Formula 1, while the owners rode in the other, being specifically dedicated to a tire test. Furthermore, by virtue of the fact that the compounds approved for 2024 are the same ones used this year, in fact, this second part was essentially an opportunity to try to optimize the car-tyre package. The data collected, also thanks to the possibility of mounting additional sensors on the single-seaters compared to the standard configuration used during the race weekends, will be shared with Pirelli.

There were eleven young talents on the track. There Williams she was the only one to divide the day into two parts: the Italian-Argentine one Franco Colapinto, fourth in Formula 3 in 2023, he ran in the morning and then passed the wheel to the Briton Zak O'Sullivan. Many of the young drivers repeated their efforts in the first free practice session last Friday. It is the case of Robert Schwartzman with the Ferrari, di Oliver Bearman with the Haas, di Fredrik Vesti with the Mercedes, of the new Formula 2 champion Theo Pourchaire with theAlfa Romeo, of Philip Drugovich with theAston Martin, of jack doohan with thealpine, di Pato O'Ward with the McLaren in addition to the aforementioned O'Sullivan. Among the starting drivers were present, however, George Russell (Mercedes), Sergio Perez (Redbull), Oscar piastri (McLaren), Fernando Alonso e Lance stroll (Aston Martin), Esteban Ocon (alpine), Charles Leclerc e Carlos Sainz (Ferrari), Yuki tsunoda e Daniel Ricciardo (AlphaTauri), Guanyu-Zhou (Alfa Romeo), Alex Albon e Logan Sargeant (Williams). There Haas it did not field either of the two drivers who raced in 2023 but entrusted the car to the reserve Pietro Fittipaldi, who can no longer be classified as a rookie having contested two Grands Prix, both with the American team.

The best time ever was achieved by Esteban Ocon in 1:24.393 while the prize for the fastest youngster was won by Pato O'Ward in 1:24.662. The temperatures were obviously very high: the asphalt remained between 25 and 44 degrees and the ambient temperature remained between 24 and 34 degrees. The sets of dry tires available were 10 for the starters (one set for C1 and C2, three sets for C3 and C4, two sets for C5) and eight sets for the youngsters (two sets for C3, four sets for C4, two sets for C5). In total, 2184 laps were completed, divided as follows on the basis of the compounds: 125 on C1 (6%), 138 on C2 (6%), 718 on C3 (33%), 942 on C4 (43%) and 261 on C5 (12%). To give an idea of ​​the amount of work carried out in a single day, 2681 laps were completed last weekend, equal to 14158 kilometres. Pirelli's track season has not ended in Abu Dhabi: next week, in fact, a test will take place in Magny-Cours (France), dedicated to the development of wet tyres, carried out in collaboration with Mercedes.