End-of-season trials: Esteban Ocon tops the time sheet with Alpine

Formula 1, it’s over for 2023. Tomorrow the teams will not be testing with Pirelli, although some teams will stay for tests specific to their development.

So this was the last time in 2023 that we saw so many single-seaters on track. In Abu Dhabi, a circuit that the drivers have become familiar with in recent days due to the Grand Prix that took place last weekend, the objective was to test developments on Pirelli tires and to evaluate young drivers from F2, F3 or IndyCar.

In this context, the times are not as good as those achieved during the Grand Prix qualifications. However, it is Esteban Ocon with Alpine who sets the fastest time of the day, with no less than 110 laps under his belt. The Alpine driver was the only one of the two regular drivers to race today, with a development program for the Pirelli tires but also with some updates. The young driver tested at Alpine was Jack Doohan. The Australian also delivers a good performance as he finishes 7th of the day and 3rd among the young drivers, 6 tenths away from Ocon’s best time.

The second session was marked by an IndyCar driver. McLaren indeed had Pat O’Ward behind the wheel, and the Mexican once again showcased his talent by setting a time just 3 tenths off Ocon’s. At McLaren, Oscar Piastri was also on track. He completed 123 laps with a very busy program and finished 18th.

Frederik Vesti, the current Formula 2 runner-up, posted the third best time of the day for Mercedes. He was able to complete 106 laps, which is important during this type of testing. This was not the case for Mercedes’ regular driver, George Russell, who encountered a mechanical issue and caused one of the red flags today. He was only able to complete 58 laps.

Théo Pourchaire, who was just crowned Formula 2 champion on Sunday, was back on the track in Formula 1 after his testing session on Friday morning. However, the French driver was unlucky with the Alfa Romeo Sauber as it spent a lot of time in the garage, just like during his first test in Mexico. Pourchaire was only able to go out on the track 12 times. Nevertheless, he manages to be the highest-ranking Alfa Romeo driver in this classification. Zhou is in 24th place and second to last.

Sergio Perez is the first driver to have driven in the Red Bull on the timesheet. He is in P4, 322 milliseconds behind Esteban Ocon. Jake Dennis was also driving the RB19, just like last Friday. He set the 14th time with 124 laps.

Note the presence of Franco Colapinto, a young driver who has just finished his first season in single-seaters in Formula 4 and who will directly join Formula 2 next year, without going through Formula 3. The “prodigy” from Mercedes was driving for Williams today. Logan Sargeant and Alex Albon were also present for the Woking team.

The day ended prematurely with a red flag caused by Ayumu Iwasa’s car. The AlphaTauri was broken down at the entrance to the pits with signs of smoke. The young F2 driver, Red Bull’s protege, was testing for AlphaTauri alongside Tsunoda and Ricciardo, who both shared the Pirelli test day.

Results of private tests in Abu Dhabi: Tuesday, November 28, 2023