Abu Dhabi test, Ferrari closes with 258 laps
Ferrari put the 2023 season to rest with the day of testing on the Abu Dhabi circuit. The two starting drivers – Carlos – were behind the wheel Sainz and Charles Leclerc – who took turns on one of the SF-23s, while the second car was entrusted to the reserve pilot Robert for the whole day Shwartzman within the scope of Young Driver Test. The team today completed 123 laps with the 1999 class, 69 with the Spaniard in the morning and 66 with the Monegasque in the afternoon, for a total of 258 rounds.
Carlos was the first to take to the track trying three tire compounds: the Spaniard started work with the C2, then moved on to the C5 and finished with the C3. His best time was 1:24.769 with C5 tyre, the reference time until the lunch break. In the afternoon it was Leclerc who got behind the wheel and lapped with the C5, C1 and C4, achieving a best time of 1:25.371.
Plenty of laps to finish off the 2023 season in the Abu Dhabi test 👏
Enjoy the rest boys! ✌️ #F1Testing #F1 pic.twitter.com/RG3kAV2tBB
— Scuderia Ferrari (@ScuderiaFerrari) November 28, 2023
Shwartzman carried the heaviest workload. The reserve driver, who was getting behind the wheel of the SF-23 for the third time this year after the two free practice sessions in Zandvoort and Yas Marina last Friday, also ran with three different compounds – C4, C3 and C5 – setting his best time in 1’25”050, but was unable to complete the lap in which he was achieving his reference time due to the red flag triggered by Ayumu Iwasa’s AlphaTauri. Overall, the two SF-23s covered 125 and, indeed, 123 laps respectively, equal to the distance of over two Grands Prix each.
Shwartzman’s words
“It was an intense day in which we tested many things, completing a total of 123 laps. Both the team and I are happy with how it went and I really enjoyed driving a Formula 1 car for another full day. We did a few laps in race configuration which allowed us to check our pace and monitor tire degradation by collecting valuable information“, these are the words of the Russian pilot, who races with the Israeli flag.
“At the end of the session we also did a few laps in qualifying configuration. Unfortunately, one attempt was interrupted by the red flag while the other was disturbed by traffic. The plan now is for me to return to Maranello for some simulator work, to help the engineers before taking a holiday break at the end of this long year. I’ll recharge my batteries for next year, which I can’t wait to start working towards“.
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