572 km from Lusail Stadiumwhere is the Selection debuted in an unexpected loss to Saudi Arabia in the World Cup, the Formula 1 that the Argentines are so passionate about ended the season with the last postseason test in the circuit of Yes Marina in Abu Dhabi.
Everywhere on Sunday charles leclerc secured the runner-up Sergius Czech perez, Ferrari He was left with good feelings completing an impressive 1-2-3.
The ten teams that make up the current grid of motorsport’s most important category remained in the UAE capital and each used two cars: one for young riders and one to help Pirelli with the 2023 tire tests.
On a test day nine hoursLeclerc set the fastest time in the morning until Sainz took over in the Ferrari F1-75 with around four hours to go and set a record of 1:25.245, 138 thousandths quicker than his teammate.
But the Scuderia’s performances didn’t end there. Robert Swartzmanna member of the Ferrari Academy and test driver for the Italian squad, he finished third, finishing just 0.017 behind the Monegasque, completing an ideal day.
Only in three months on February 23, 2023F1 will be reconvened in Bahrain for the only pre-season test of a championship which will get underway on Sunday 5 March in that same location for the first round of a year with a record of races (24).
A pure debut Tuesday
Although two well-known faces were the ones who led the final times -Leclerc and Sainz in the best of the 65 and 56 laps they gave away, respectively, with Ferrari-, Fernando Alonso, Pierre Gasly, Oscar Piastri, Nyck de Vries and Nico Hulkenberg were seen in their new cars for the first time.
Most important, at least by the numbers, was Gaslyfourth on his first outing for Alpine having raced for Alpha Tauri until last weekend.
In the final ten minutes, the Frenchman was 0.4 seconds behind Sainz and ahead of the two-time champion Max Verstappen, who finished fifth after taking over from Red Bull in the afternoon; Checo Pérez, on the other hand, was 13th overall and then traveled to the 974 stadium to watch Mexico’s debut, 0-0 against Poland, in the World Cup in Qatar.
Although Alonso in the Aston Martin finished third by midday he was finally 12th after completing 97 laps before handing over the car to Lance Strollwho was Sebastian Vettel’s teammate until the German retired on Sunday and finished ninth after 70 laps.
The one who didn’t do very well was Piastri in McLaren. The replacement of Daniel Ricciardo -and who had been trained by Renault but went to the British team in one of the bombings of the season- had to stop the car in the third hour when a power unit protection trigger was activated, causing the first red flag of the day .
The Australian remounted in the MCL36 and finished 14th overall on his public debut for McLaren, comfortably topping 100 laps (123) despite his turn 7 crash.
The other interruption, however, occurred with an experienced driver who will also make his debut in Haas next season in place of Mick Schumacher after a three-year absence from competitions.
Hulkenberg, who replaced Vettel at Aston Martin at the start of the year due to the coronavirus, had a technical problem that caused his Haas VF-22 to stop in the second sector in the second hour.
The crash didn’t prompt a red flag, but it did rob the German of some track time before clocking 110 laps and finishing 19th fastest, just over 0.1s and two places ahead of Peter Fittipalditeam test rider Gene Haas.
The busiest driver of the day, on the other hand, was the Dutch De Vrieswho finished eighth in the best of his 152 laps, while the two Williams men –Alessandro Albano and the rookie Sergeant Logan– he managed to improve in the last hour reaching sixth and seventh position. The top 10 closed it Liam Lawson from Red Bull.
What happened to Mercedes, who went from bottom to top in this 2022? Lewis Hamilton Y George Russell they had a similar time in the car -67 and 73 laps- but finished 17th and 23rd respectively. Something similar happened to Lando Norriswho finished 18th out of 24 drivers.
Source: Clarin
Jason Root is the go-to source for sports coverage at News Rebeat. With a passion for athletics and an in-depth knowledge of the latest sports trends, Jason provides comprehensive and engaging analysis of the world of sports.