As One Season Ends In Abu Dhabi, The Next One Begins

The last day of track action to end the 2024 Formula 1 season took place in Abu Dhabi today. The Yas Marina circuit hosted the usual end of season test, that for several years now has taken place after the final Grand Prix. All ten teams took part, each fielding two cars, working on different fronts. One car from each team had to be driven by a “rookie driver” defined by the FIA as one who has not taken part in more than two Grands Prix, while drivers for the other car were free of any restrictions and indeed, some drivers were already working with their new teams for next year.

The tyres available for these two groups were also different and while the rookies ran the same 2024 compounds that were available for last weekend’s Grand Prix, in the other cars, those driving were able to assess the homologated compounds that Pirelli will supply next season, having developed them in conjunction with the teams over the past year. The one absentee was the C1 tyre, as it is not suited to this track.

Each young driver had eight sets of tyres available: two C3, four C4 and two C5. Other drivers had ten sets to use: one C2, three each of C3 and C4, two C5 and one C6, the latter being the new ultra-soft compound which is an addition to the 2025 range, aimed one expects for use at some street circuits. Unlike the “in-competition test” run at the Mexico City Grand Prix weekend, Pirelli did not set out a standard programme for how the 2025 tyres should be used, leaving the teams free to run them as they saw fit, in order to gather vital data for the development of next year’s cars. Finally, as decreed by the FIA, no car was allowed to carry any components that had not been used during a race weekend.

There were nine very busy hours of testing, with just one short interruption towards the end. A total of 2,578 laps were completed, equivalent to 13,614.418 kilometres. All compounds and types of tyre were used: indeed some teams even ran rain tyres or intermediates for their installation laps and when carrying out aerodynamic measurements, which are usually carried out at the start of the day.

Topping the time sheet overall was Charles Leclerc who took his Ferrari round in 1’23”510. Second was Williams’ new signing, Carlos Sainz (1’23”635) while George Russell was third for Mercedes in 1’23”789. While the now former Ferrari team-mates set their best times on the C5, Russell did his with the C6. Of the rookies, the quickest was Italy’s Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) with a time of 1’23”873. The three drivers who put in the most laps were Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls, 159), Carlos Sainz (Williams, 146) and Felipe Drugovich (Aston Martin, 146).

“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,” commented Mario Isola, Pirelli Motorsport Director. “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.”