Post-Season Test: Carlos Sainz Claims Final Top Spot as 2022 Officially Ends

The first season of the new aerodynamic regulations has officially drawn to a close, with the post-season young drivers test and Pirelli tyre test having been completed at the Yas Marina Circuit. Despite the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix having only happened on Sunday, attention quickly switched to 2023, as switching drivers were seen driving for their new team for the first-time.

The test, as per usual, saw a large number of drivers complete lap-times, twenty-four competitors in total. It was Scuderia Ferrari who ended the year, though, how they started it, on top. Carlos Sainz Jr led a Ferrari one-two-three, with Charles Leclerc having claimed second and Ferrari reserve driver Robert Shwartzman in third.

All the teams were allowed to use both cars in the post-season test, with one having been used to let a young driver gain mileage, whilst the other was for testing the 2023 compounds. All of the moving drivers were seen behind the wheel in their new colours during the test, with Pierre Gasly having been driving for the BWT Alpine F1 Team, Nyck de Vries for Scuderia AlphaTauri, Nico Hulkenberg for the Haas F1 Team, Oscar Piastri for the McLaren F1 Team, Logan Sargeant for Williams Racing, and Fernando Alonso for the Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant Formula One Team.

Due to still being under contract with Alpine, Alonso drove a sponsorless AMR22, which looked absolutely beautiful! Out of the moving drivers it was Gasly who got to grips with his new team the fastest, after ending the day’s test as fourth best; however, the leaderboard is effectively meaningless given that the day is purely about gathering data.

World Champion Max Verstappen sealed the top five with Alex Albon and Sargeant claiming sixth and seventh respectively. De Vries was by far the busiest of the drivers in eighth, having completed an astonishing one-hundred fifty-two laps, whilst having also spun once. A number of drivers found themselves spinning in the test, with a couple red flags having also been needed.

The first was for Piastri, who came to a halt at Turn Seven following a reported technical glitch, rather than damage to his McLaren. Hulkenberg was the only other driver to encounter some form of issue, having lost two hours of running due to a technical issue.

Overall, a strong day of mileage for Ferrari and a great learning experience for all the young drivers, with all eyes now on building the best car possible to hit the track in 2023.

Abu Dhabi Post-Season Test Full Results: