The 2024 F1 season has now come to a close, but the action hasn’t completely stopped yet. There are still post-season tests left in Abu Dhabi, which will feature plenty of faces both familiar and new.
Ten teams will have to test the 2025 Pirelli compound throughout the day, with one of these cars being used specifically for tire testing and requiring a driver with a super license.
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Other cars are used to test young drivers and must have ‘young’ drivers, defined as those with less than two Grand Prix starts. This excludes Ollie Bearman, who has driven three times this year when replacing Carlos Sainz. in Saudi Arabia, and when he replaced Kevin Magnussen in Baku and Brazil.
Speaking of Sainz, he will be joining a new team Williams, and many drivers who were released from their contracts on time will become agents of the new team. However, this may not be the case for everyone, so don’t expect to see Lewis Hamilton wearing Ferrari colors just yet.
Here’s a quick look at everyone who participated in the test:
mclaren
Oscar Piastri/Lando Norris
Patricio Oward
Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri will share McLaren duties as they figure out Pirelli’s compound for next season. As the only driver to complete every racing lap in 2024, Piastri needs very little practice. However, the opportunity to steal records from their rivals is a welcome one, and 2025 is likely to be a year of fierce championship competition.
The duo were joined by Patricio O’Ward, who had already driven this year’s car at his home race in Mexico. He took part in FP1 there and also took part in the 2021 Young Driver Test in Abu Dhabi.
