DE VRIES TOPS F1 TESTING IN ABU DHABI
Nyck de Vries came out on top in the opening day of Formula 1 post-season testing at Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi, besting a strong crop of young drivers and F1 regulars.
The Dutch Formula E driver set a 1m 23.191s in the 2021-spec Mercedes machine, comfortably 1.326s clear of AlphaTauri man Liam Lawson.
De Vries completed 77 laps on the day, outperforming his fellow Young Driver Test runners who occupied top seven spots on the timesheets.
Lawson was just 0.006s clear of Formula 2 champion Oscar Piastri, who finished in third for Alpine.
IndyCar race winner Pato O’Ward was just behind after completing 92 laps, his test a reward from McLaren boss Zak Brown for achieving his maiden IndyCar victory.
Guanyu Zhou took fifth on his first appearance for Alfa Romeo, the Chinese driver completed 119 laps.
Red Bull driver Juri Vips hit the barrier exiting Turn 14 to produce one of the three red flags and was sixth, while Aston Martin simulator driver Nick Yelloly was seventh overall 2.142s slower than de Vries.
Daniel Ricciardo was the best of the regular drivers, who produced slower lap times due to trialling the new specification 18-inch Pirelli tyres.
The Aussie McLaren driver was nearly a second slower than Yelloly, but 0.3s clear of Lance Stroll in the adapted Aston Martin despite causing the first red flag due to a mechanical issue.
Formula 2 runner-up Robert Shwartzman and Charles Leclerc were 10th and 11th respectively in different Ferrari machines, Leclerc taking part in the tyre test.
Valtteri Bottas another driver to make his first appearance for a new team, turning out in Alfa Romeo colours after receiving Mercedes’ permission.
The Finn clocked up 127 laps and finished 12th, despite an early spin.
Bottas steered his first laps in an Alfa Romeo. Images: Motorsport Images
Antonio Fuoco and Yuki Tsunoda were 13th and 14th.
American driver Logan Sargeant made his F1 debut for Williams, managing 92 laps before a power unit issue ended his day with two hours to go.
Esteban Ocon was 16th for Alpine.
George Russell took his place in the vacant Mercedes, beginning his time at the team with 131 laps of Yas Marina.
Russell was 18th, behind newly crowned F1 champion Max Verstappen who did 123 laps of his own on the new tyres.
Mick Schumacher held up the rear of the testing field in his Haas, nearly 6s seconds in arrears with a 1m 29.099s.
Testing will continue into a second day, Haas the only team set to run both a young driver and tyre tester.
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