Charles Leclerc was quickest in Formula 1’s sole day of post-season testing, as he again shared the track with his brother Arthur.

The Ferrari driver who finished third in the world championship set a quickest time of 1’23.510 and covered 134 laps.

Mercedes junior driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli, who was originally scheduled to do a full day’s running, missed the beginning of the test but joined in time to cover 62 laps, getting within four-tenths of a second of Leclerc’s best time. The pair were separated by Carlos Sainz Jnr, making his debut for Williams, George Russell in the other Mercedes and Nico Hulkenberg, on his first day with Sauber.

Frederik Vesti substituted for Antonelli early on in the session. He covered 55 laps and ended the test at the bottom of the times with Ferrari’s Antonio Fuoco, another driver who only ran earlier in the day when track conditions were less favourable.

Red Bull used the test to give Yuki Tsunoda his first opportunity to drive one of their cars. He and Isack Hadjar’s best lap times were within hundredths of a second of each other, the Formula 2 runner-up having already driven the RB20 in practice sessions twice this year.

Tsunoda raved about his first run in Max Verstappen’s world championship-winning machine. “It’s the first time in the past four years that I have driven a different car,” he said.

“You can physically feel why the RB20 has been fighting for a championship this year, it feels like a very different car to drive. We have had a very [productive] day today so I am really happy with that.”

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“I feel like the car suits my driving style and I haven’t struggled much at all to adapt,” he added, “even on the long runs I have been able to run consistently today and was able to feel the limitations of the car which, if you don’t have confidence in the car, you are unable to test.”

While McLaren’s IndyCar star Pato O’Ward had his latest run in one of the MCL38s, Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri shared the other. Norris had a brief spin early on in the session without causing damage.

Abu Dhabi post-season test times

Pos. Driver Team Model Best time Gap Laps
1 Charles Leclerc Ferrari SF-24 1’23.510 134
2 Carlos Sainz Jnr Williams FW46 1’23.635 0.125 146
3 George Russell Mercedes W15 1’23.789 0.279 134
4 Nico Hulkenberg Sauber C44 1’23.856 0.346 113
5 Andrea Kimi Antonelli Mercedes W15 1’23.873 0.363 62
6 Ayumu Iwasa RB RB01 1’24.100 0.590 110
7 Pato O’Ward McLaren MCL38 1’24.222 0.712 116
8 Jack Doohan Alpine A524 1’24.268 0.758 137
9 Paul Aron Alpine A524 1’24.275 0.765 121
10 Esteban Ocon Haas VF-24 1’24.305 0.795 119
11 Luke Browning Williams FW46 1’24.375 0.865 105
12 Ryo Hirakawa Haas VF-24 1’24.435 0.925 133
13 Liam Lawson RB RB01 1’24.440 0.930 159
14 Arthur Leclerc Ferrari SF-24 1’24.576 1.066 68
15 Isack Hadjar Red Bull RB20 1’24.632 1.122 125
16 Lando Norris McLaren MCL38 1’24.678 1.168 84
17 Yuki Tsunoda Red Bull RB20 1’24.689 1.179 127
18 Gabriel Bortoleto Sauber C44 1’24.738 1.228 130
19 Oscar Piastri McLaren MCL38 1’24.838 1.328 72
20 Jak Crawford Aston Martin AMR24 1’24.997 1.487 109
21 Felipe Drugovich Aston Martin AMR24 1’25.014 1.504 146
22 Frederik Vesti Mercedes W15 1’25.159 1.649 55
23 Antonio Fuoco Ferrari SF-24 1’25.238 1.728 73

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