Final test of the season results: Ocon fastest, O'Ward and Vesti follow

F1 News

test abu dhabi ocon fastest, perez third 2023
28 November 2023 at 14:14
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  • Ludo van Denderen

The 2023 season is finally over: at 18:00 local time in Abu Dhabi, the last F1 driver completed a lap at the Yas Marina Circuit during the final test, after which all eyes will now turn to 2024. During the test - where Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton were missing - Esteban Ocon was fastest.

Alpine's Frenchman set his best time late in the day after Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) had been fastest for a long time. The Spaniard completed his best lap in the morning session. Incidentally, with the track getting cooler in the early evening, it was more drivers who came under Sainz's time. Even the surprisingly strong Pato O'Ward of McLaren managed to do so, eventually finishing second.

Russell crashes his Mercedes

For George Russell, the session ended abruptly. Even before the halfway point, the Brit crashed his Mercedes into the wall. His team soon announced that there had been a problem with the car. Fred Vesti, Mercedes' runner-up this Tuesday, was able to finish the session though in third.

AlphaTauri also had problems. In the last hour, Iwasa had to pull over his car, possibly because of a broken power unit. At least there was the necessary smoke coming out of his car. This briefly resulted in a red flag, the second of the day.

Indeed, the test had started with an early red flag. Not because of a problem on the track, but because a helicopter was not present in case there was a medical emergency. Once it landed, the session could continue. This incident did cost half an hour, but that time was not added later in the day.

The results of the final test in Abu Dhabi