Motorsports
What the F1 teams did during testing in Abu Dhabi after the season finale
The curtain fell on F1 2023 last Sunday with the Abu Dhabi GP, but teams remained at Yas Marina for the now-established end-of-year testing. What was the purpose of the tests and which drivers took part?
The test day in the Persian Gulf country has been held continuously after the Abu Dhabi GP in recent years, with two purposes: the first purpose is to provide data required by Pirelli for next season’s test tires, and the second is to provide more The new and aspiring drivers of the teams’ academies can gain experience with Formula 1 cars.
This year, the sport’s 10 teams will take part in this test day with their two cars for each of these two purposes. One will be driven by each team’s established competitors, the other by new drivers.
For both reasons, every car completes triple-digit lap times throughout the day. Young drivers in particular take advantage of the opportunity, which they do not get at any other time of the year other than the winter tests and two free practice sessions at the GPs of the year, to gain experience driving the best cars in the world.
As a result, we saw riders – like Haas’ Pietro Fittipaldi – complete up to 130 laps, meaning they completed two GPs in one day, and even more – considering the Yas Marina race was 58 laps. Many teams – such as Ferrari – also decided to have both racing drivers take part in the tire tests.
What happened during the tests?
Alpine’s Esteban Ocon scored for the first time this day of testing, with a speed about a second slower than Max Verstappen’s pole position three days earlier. The big surprise of the day, however, was George Russell’s crash in Turn 6.
The Englishman lost control of his Mercedes W14 and crashed into the barriers at Turn 6, possibly due to a mechanical problem. The front right side of the car was badly damaged, meaning Russell’s day was over after 58 laps. Testing was also halted earlier due to a water leak at turns 13 and 14 and then towards the end for the third time when Alpha Tauri stopped on track with youngster Ayumou Iwasa.
Additionally, the day started with a 20-minute delay due to the wait for the rescue helicopter. Before the lunch break, Carlos Sainz in the Ferrari SF-23 was the fastest with a time of 1:24.799 on the soft Pirelli tires. In the afternoon, the Spaniard’s place in Cavallino was taken by Charles Leclerc, and towards the end Alpine’s Esteban Ocon shaved four tenths off Saint’s time.
The protagonist in the USA Peito O’Ward with a McLaren MCL60, the runners-up in this year’s F2 Frédéric Vesti with a Mercedes and Ceco Perez with a Red Bull RB19 also moved faster than the Spaniard. Max Verstappen did not take part in these tests, neither did Lewis Hamilton. But the gift came from Fernando Alonso, who shared the Aston Martin AMR23 with Lance Stroll.
Theo Purser, who was crowned Formula 2 champion at the weekend, competed for Alfa Romeo F1 – the team’s last appearance under that name – and finished 11th, about a second ahead of Ocon.
Jack Doohan, Robert Schwarzman and Felipe Drugovic already had extensive Formula 1 experience, but these tests saw the debut of Argentinian Franco Colapinto with Williams and Iwasa with Alpha Tauri. Jake Dennis from Red Bull and Oliver Berman from Haas (as a member of the Ferrari Academy) also took part in Friday’s free practice and were once again very positive and productive.
ABU DHABI TRIAL 2023
- 1. Esteban Ocon (Alpine) 1:24.393 – 110 laps
- 2. Peito O’Ward (McLaren) 1:24.662 – 103 laps
- 3. Frédéric Vesti (Mercedes) 1:24.679 – 106 laps
- 4. Sergio Perez (Red Bull) 1:24.715 – 117 laps
- 5. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) 1:24.799 – 69 laps
- 6. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) 1:24.827 – 37 laps
- 7. Jack Doohan (Alpine) 1:25.038 – 108 laps
- 8. Robert Schwarzman (Ferrari) 1:25.050 – 123 laps
- 9. Logan Sargeant (Williams) 1:25.263 – 56 laps
- 10. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) 1:25.371 – 66 laps
- 11. Teo Purser (Alfa Romeo) 1:25.424 – 96 laps
- 12. Felipe Drugovic (Aston Martin) 1:25.554 – 123 laps
- 13. Yuki Tsunoda (AlphaTauri) 1:25.570 – 59 laps
- 14. Jake Dennis (Red Bull) 1:25.666 – 124 laps
- 15. Ayumou Iwasa (AlphaTauri) 1:25.753 – 96 laps
- 16. Oliver Berman (Haas) 1:25.779 – 110 laps
- 17. Zach O’Sullivan (Williams) 1:25.842 – 50 laps
- 18. Oscar Piastri (McLaren) 1:25.930 – 123 laps
- 19. Pietro Fittipaldi (Haas) 1:25.940 – 130 laps
- 20. George Russell (Mercedes) 1:26.283 – 58 laps
- 21. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) 1:26.681 – 50 laps
- 22. Franco Colapinto (Williams) 1:26.832 – 65 laps
- 23. Daniel Ricciardo (AlphaTauri) 1:26.965 – 55 laps
- 24. Guanyu Chow (Alfa Romeo) 1:27.387 – 106 laps
- 25. Alex Albon (Williams) 1:27.824 – 51 laps
Source: sport 24
Hi, my name is Jayden James. I am a writer at Sportish, and I mostly cover sports news. I have been writing since high school and have been published in various magazines and newspapers. I also write book reviews for a website. In my free time, I enjoy playing soccer and basketball.
Motorsports
The crew of the Lithuanian Zala won the Dakar in the truck category, Al-Attiyah won the marathon rally for the sixth time in his career
The crew led by Lithuanian Vaidotas Zala in an Iveco won the Dakar rally marathon held in Saudi Arabia in the truck category.
The total time of Zala based on the results of 13 stages is 56 hours 58 minutes 38 seconds. The second place was taken by the Czech crew led by Ales Lopreis (lag – 20 minutes 18 seconds; Iveco), the third was the Dutchman Mitchel van den Brink (+29.03; MM Technology).
The Russian KAMAZ-master team missed the Dakar due to a ban on participation under the Russian flag.
In the motorcycle category, Argentinean Luciano Benavidez won (time: 49:00.41; KTM), two seconds ahead of American Ricky Brabec (Honda). The top three finishers were completed by Spaniard Tosha Shareina on Honda (+25.12).
Qatari Nasser Al-Attiyah, driving a Dacia, won the Dakar for the sixth time in his career in the SUV category, his time being 48 hours 56 minutes 53 seconds. The second was the Spaniard Nani Roma (+9.42; Ford), the third was the Swede Mattias Ekström (+14.33; Ford). Russian Denis Krotov, competing under a license from Kyrgyzstan, took 31st place (+8:10.45).
American Brock Heger (55:11.56; Polaris) took the lead in the SSV all-terrain vehicle class. Second place was taken by his compatriot Kyle Chaney (+1:01.39; Can-Am), the Frenchman Xavier de Soultre (+1:25.25; Polaris) closed the top three.
Source: Sportbox
Sophia Jhon is a sports journalist and author. He has worked as a news editor for Sportish and is now a sport columnist for the same publication. Alberta’s professional interests lie largely in sports news, with an emphasis on English football. He has also written articles on other sporting topics.
Sergio Perez shared his feelings after his first trip to the track for the Cadillac team.
Just 10.5 months after receiving final approval from the FIA to become the 11th team in the championship, Perez found himself behind the wheel at the Silverstone circuit, where the car completed its first laps on the day of filming.
The team, wearing all black uniforms, confirmed that they carried out all system checks during the run.
“Today was truly an incredible day,” Perez said
Everyone should be proud as we completed our first tours as a team. Every member of the team worked on this moment and it was very emotional for me.
We can and should enjoy it, but it also gives us even more energy. I want to get behind the wheel as soon as possible; This is just the beginning.”
“This was a great opportunity for the team to get a feel for operating in a real garage environment, test the car’s systems and troubleshoot initial issues. But this is just the beginning of the journey. We are now focusing on pre-season testing in a few weeks, which will provide further learning opportunities.”
Source: Sport UA
Ruth Waterhouse is an author and sports journalist who writes for Sportish. She is known for her coverage of various sports events and her insightful analysis of sports-related news. With a passion for sports and a keen eye for detail, she has become a respected voice in the sports community.
Red Bull engine director Ben Hodginson has commented on rumors of a possible loophole in the 2026 Formula 1 rules, stating that the team is operating on the verge of legality.
The Milton Keynes-based team is starting a new era in powertrain production with Ford in 2026, after ending its partnership with Honda. The new rules involve a complete reboot of engine regulations, giving a greater role to electric power and the use of sustainable combustion engine fuels.
There were rumors during the winter break that both Red Bull and Mercedes had found a loophole in the 2026 regulations regarding the geometric compression ratio. Other manufacturers, notably Audi, Honda and Ferrari, have asked the FIA to clarify this aspect of the rules. A meeting is planned between the FIA and Formula 1 Management to discuss possible loopholes and other regulation changes.
According to the information obtained, the alleged gap is related to the geometric compression ratio of the engines, which will decrease from 18:1 to 16:1 in 2026. Rumor has it that Red Bull and Mercedes have discovered a method that allows the compression ratio to remain at 16:1 when static, but increase to 18:1 during laps, which could add around 15 hp. and improve lap times.
Hodgkinson assured that the new Red Bull engine was legal, but the team, like others, was pushing it to its limits:
“I think there is some tension between the various powertrain manufacturers that there may be demanding engineering practices on some of the teams.” he said.
“To be honest, I’m not quite sure how much I’m going to listen to this. I’ve been doing this for a long time and it’s almost just noise. You really have to do your best in your own race.”
“I know what we’re doing, and I’m confident that what we’re doing is legal. Of course, we’ve reached the limit of what the rules allow. I’d be surprised if everyone didn’t do it.”
“To be honest, I don’t think it’s a big deal. I expect everyone to sit at 16, that’s really what I expect.”
The first pre-season testing will take place on January 26 in a five-day event at the Barcelona-Catalonia circuit.
Source: Sport UA
Ruth Waterhouse is an author and sports journalist who writes for Sportish. She is known for her coverage of various sports events and her insightful analysis of sports-related news. With a passion for sports and a keen eye for detail, she has become a respected voice in the sports community.
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The crew of the Lithuanian Zala won the Dakar in the truck category, Al-Attiyah won the marathon rally for the sixth time in his career
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