The conclusion of the 2023 Formula 1 championship has been officially marked. Scuderia Ferrari wrapped up the campaign with a day of testing at the 5.281-kilometre Yas Marina Circuit on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi. The driving duties were divided among the two race drivers, Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc, each taking turns behind the wheel of one of the SF-23s.
Meanwhile, Robert Shwartzman exclusively piloted the other car throughout the day as part of the Young Driver Test. Collectively, they completed a total of 258 laps, with Robert contributing 123, the Spaniard completing 69 in the morning, and the Monegasque covering 66 in the afternoon.
The race drivers followed distinct testing patterns. Carlos initiated the track activity, experimenting with three different tire compounds. He commenced with the C2, transitioned to the C5, and ultimately tested the C3. His most notable time was a commendable 1’24”769 on the C5, the softest compound, standing as the quickest time until the lunch break. In the afternoon session, Charles took over, testing the C5, C1, and C4, achieving his best time at 1’25”371.
As for Robert Shwartzman, he led in terms of laps completed, marking his third time this year in control of an SF-23. He had previously driven in free practice at Zandvoort and Yas Marina last Friday. Shwartzman navigated three different compounds, the C4, C3, and C5, with his personal best time recorded at 1’25”050. Unfortunately, a red flag caused by Ayumu Iwasa in the AlphaTauri forced him to abort what could have been his fastest lap. Overall, one SF-23 covered 125 laps, while the other completed 123, equivalent to two race distances each.
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Robert Shwartzman’s comments:
“It was a busy day with a lot of running, during which we tested many things, completing a total of 123 laps. Both the team and I are happy with how it went and I really enjoyed driving a Formula 1 car over a full day again. We did some race runs that allowed us to check our pace with the tyre degradation and we definitely gathered valuable information. At the end of the day, we also did some performance runs. Unfortunately, one got interrupted by a red flag and the other one by traffic. The plan now is to go back to Maranello for some simulator work, help the engineers there before taking a holiday break after a long season, so as to return fresh next year, which I’m really looking forward to.” – the Ferrari Driver Academy member explained at the end of the testing day in Abu Dhabi.
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