Yas Marina – Renault’s Fernando Alonso has topped the timesheet at the Young Driver Test in Abu Dhabi.
Click here for the complete results from the Young Driver Test at Yas Marina.
Fernando Alonso has set the pace on the final day of Formula 1 action for 2020, having topped the timesheets at the Young Driver Test at Yas Marina.
The Spaniard was given special permission to enter the test, which was originally designated as a test specifically for Young Drivers, defined as those who have taken part in two Grands Prix or fewer. Renault sought the dispensation as Alonso has been out of Formula 1 as a race driver for two years.
Putting in 104 laps of the Yas Marina Circuit, Alonso did a best time of 1:36.333 in the 2020 Renault to set the pace ahead of a field made up of some very inexperienced names.
Nyck de Vries, driving a Formula 1 car for the first time as Mercedes set him loose in a W11, finished in P2 and just over 0.2 behind Alonso. He did 110 laps in total of Yas Marina. Mercedes Formula E teammate Stoffel Vandoorne was up next in P3, with a 1:36.840, as he joined De Vries on track in the other W11.
Robert Kubica, another driver given dispensation to drive after sitting out the 2020 season, finished P4 for Alfa Romeo. He did 89 laps with a best time of 1:37.446.
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Yuki Tsunoda, widely expected to be driving for Alpha Tauri as a race driver in 2021, finished P5 as he was set loose in the AT01. Having finished P3 in the Formula 2 Championship, the young Japanese racer did 122 laps of the circuit.
Juri Vips, driving one of the Red Bull RB16s, finished in P6. He did 100 laps with a best time of 1:37.700.
Antonio Fuoco, given the chance to drive the SF1000 by Ferrari, finished the day in P7. He did 126 laps with a best time of 1:37.817. He finished 0.009 clear of Callum Ilott, who was at the wheel of the second Alfa Romeo C39. The runner-up in this year’s Formula 2 Championship did 93 laps in total.
Guanyu Zhou was at the wheel of the second Renault RS20, and did 98 laps in total. Finishing P9, his best time was 1:37.902.
Jack Aitken, driving for Williams, was P10, with a best time of 1:38.153 and completed 78 laps. Robert Shwartzman, driving the other Ferrari SF1000, was P11 and did a best time of 1:38.157 and did the most laps of anyone on the day. He completed 129 laps over the course of the eight hours of track time.
Sebastien Buemi, another dispensation by the FIA, was driving the second Red Bull RB16 as he hasn’t raced in Formula 1 since 2011. Red Bull specifically had him at the wheel for the purposes of correlating on-track data with their software, and he did 76 laps in total. His best time had him in P12 with a 1:38.124.
Marino Sato, driving the second Alpha Tauri AT01 as the team fielded an all-Japanese line-up for the test, finished P13 with 127 laps on the board. Roy Nissany finished P14 for Williams, with Haas’ new race driver for 2021, Mick Schumacher, down at the very bottom. The new Formula 2 Champion did 125 laps in total with a best time of 1:39.947.
