Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Autosport
Autosport
Sport

Ocon tops F1's Abu Dhabi post-season test as Russell crashes

Abu Dhabi's one-day test is a combined exercise to hand Pirelli extra tyre data while also providing a chance to rookie drivers to gather valuable miles. All teams ran two cars, one for each assignment.

Russell caused the most notable incident by crashing in Turn 6 four hours into the session after a suspected technical failure punted the Mercedes driver into the barriers.

The incident, which caused significant damage to the W14's front-right corner, forced Russell to sit out the rest of the day after completing 58 laps.

It was the second stoppage of the day after an earlier water leak between Turns 13 and 14 delayed the action. The red flag was brought out a third time in the final hour by Red Bull junior Ayumu Iwasa, who ground to a halt in the AlphaTauri with 40 minutes on the clock.

The test had already faced an initial 25-minute delay from its planned 9:00am local start time caused by a wait for the medical helicopter.

Carlos Sainz topped the morning running ahead of Red Bull's Sergio Perez and McLaren's Oscar Piastri with a 1m24.799s for Ferrari on softs, a time which kept him on top until sunset while he handed over the SF-23 to Charles Leclerc.

Ocon finally lowered the Spaniard's benchmark with a 1m24.393s after 110 laps, followed by McLaren's reserve driver Pato O'Ward in second with 103 laps completed.

George Russell, Mercedes F1 W14 (Photo by: Steven Tee / Motorsport Images)

Mercedes junior and F2 runner-up Frederik Vesti, who was at the wheel of Mercedes' rookie car, completed the top three with a 1m24.679s after 106 laps.

Perez further demoted Sainz to fifth in the cooler evening conditions, followed by Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso, who completed just 37 laps as he split the day with Lance Stroll.

Rookies Jack Doohan (Alpine) and Robert Shwartzman (Ferrari) were seventh and eighth respectively, with Williams Logan Sargeant and Leclerc rounding out the top 10.

Newly-crowned F2 champion Theo Pourchaire was up in 11th after an early hiccup saw him stop short of reaching the 100-lap barrier for Alfa Romeo.

Red Bull's Jake Dennis completed 124 laps aboard the RB19, while the test day also gave Argentina's Franco Colapinto his F1 debut with half a day in the Williams.

Pietro Fittipaldi was the most productive driver of the day with 130 laps completed for Haas, relieving regular race drivers Kevin Magnussen and Nico Hulkenberg while Oliver Bearman received another day of driving after impressing on his two FP1 outings.

Formula 1 Abu Dhabi Post-Season Test
1 Esteban Ocon Alpine 1m24.393s 110
2 Pato O'Ward McLaren 1m24.662s 103
3 Frederik Vesti Mercedes 1m24.679s 106
4 Sergio Perez Red Bull 1m24.715s 117
5 Carlos Sainz Ferrari 1m24.799s 69
6 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin 1m24.827s 37
7 Mick Doohan Alpine 1m25.038s 108
8 Robert Shwartzman Ferrari 1m25.050s 123
9 Logan Sargeant Williams 1m25.263s 56
10 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1m25.371s

66

11 Theo Pourchaire Alfa Romeo 1m25.424s

96

12 Felipe Drugovich Aston Martin 1m25.554s 123
13 Yuki Tsunoda AlphaTauri  1m25.570s 59
14 Jake Dennis Red Bull 1m25.666s 124
15 Ayumu Iwasa AlphaTauri 1m25.753s 96
16 Oliver Bearman Haas 1m25.779s

110

17 Zak O'Sullivan Williams 1m25.842s 50
18 Oscar Piastri McLaren 1m25.930s 123
19 Pietro Fittipaldi Haas 1m25.940s 130
20 George Russell Mercedes 1m26.283s 58
21 Lance Stroll Aston Martin 1m26.681s 50
22 Franco Colapinto Williams 1m26.832s 65
23 Daniel Ricciardo AlphaTauri 1m26.965s 55
24 Zhou Guanyu Alfa Romeo 1m27.387s 106
25 Alex Albon  Williams 1m27.824s 51

 

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.