The final checkered flag of 2025
The checkered flag has officially fallen on the post-season testing at Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi, marking the definitive end of the 2025 Formula 1 season. On this day, many rookie drivers took to the track, while several top teams focused fully on preparations for 2026, the start of a new era in Formula 1, bringing cars with major technical updates. Here are all the results from the final session of this long year.
Final kilometers of 2025: the lap times
After the nine hours of track time available for testing, the fastest driver was Formula 2 runner-up Jack Crawford, already in action during Friday’s FP1, driving the Aston Martin. The American driver’s best lap, set after completing 119 laps, was 1:23.766. Close behind was Alpine driver Paul Aron, followed by three other rookies: Luke Browning (Williams), Frederik Vesti (Mercedes), and Ayumu Iwasa (Racing Bulls), all within less than a second.
The first regular F1 driver appears in sixth place: Andrea Kimi Antonelli. The Italian, who finished seventh in his first F1 season, set a best lap of 1:25.170 after completing 157 laps. McLaren’s Oscar Piastri ended tenth, while reigning World Champion Lando Norris was twelfth on track, sporting a fully gold helmet.
The first Ferrari on the timing sheet was Dino Beganovic in ninth, alternating driving duties with Lewis Hamilton. Charles Leclerc closed out 2025 in fourteenth place, with a best lap of 1:26.417. Max Verstappen was absent, leaving Red Bull to Isack Hadjar, while Arvid Lindblad made his official debut with Racing Bulls.
Previews for 2026
Looking ahead to 2026, only two teams had already introduced significant updates on track: Ferrari and Mercedes, particularly on the cars of Charles Leclerc and Andrea Kimi Antonelli. The Mercedes W16 ran from the morning with the first “active” wings, designed to fully simulate the cars of the next regulatory cycle, providing crucial data for next season’s performance.
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