Abu Dhabi Test Recap

Starting the day on the C3 medium compound, Shwartzman got up to speed with ease and went to work helping the team find the car’s balance for the day’s run plan. A swap to C4 tires helped obtain 62 laps to finish the morning session, with a fastest lap of 1:26.980. Before going into the lunch break, Shwartzman completed his first practice pitstops in Formula 1, marking another milestone for the young driver.

After lunch, focus turned to high fuel runs on the C4 compound, banking over 50 laps in the process. The final tire to be used was the softest C5 for qualifying simulations, adding to Shwartzman’s tally before the checkered flag fell.

The 22-year-old Russian recorded 130 laps around the 5.281-kilometer (3.281-mile), 16-turn circuit, topping the day’s timesheets courtesy of a 1:25.348 lap.

Mick Schumacher and Official Test and Reserve driver Pietro Fittipaldi participated in the Pirelli 18-inch test on Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively. The pair accumulated 223 laps in total, rounding out a sixth season of on-track action for America’s Formula 1 team. 

Robert Shwartzman, Driver no. 50

“It’s been very nice. I’m very happy and I learned a lot which is very positive – I was always improving and progressing which is a very important thing. It’s been a big pleasure to drive for Haas today, it’s a different team and new environment but it went quickly. The team and people around were very nice and they were happy with what we’ve done today, we’ve done some different testing which was all good. It was just a very positive test and I’m happy. It’s always the cherry on the cake when you leave the track and you’re the quickest.” 

Ayao Komatsu, Director of Engineering

“We had our mule car with the 18-inch tires for two days – first day with Mick and then again today with Pietro and the car ran without any major issues. We collected lots of data and we understand quite a lot about the 18-inch tires, how they will work and what the limitations may look like. That’s a good step forward ahead of winter testing next year. Today, we also ran Robert as part of the young driver test so he ran this year’s car. Again, he did a really professional job, and his feedback was really good. We ran him at the end on the soft tire and sometimes young drivers cannot get everything out of it, but he did. A very good two days at the end of a very tough season.”

Test Data

Date: Wednesday, 15 December
Location: Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi
Layout: 5.281-kilometer (3.281-mile), 16-turn circuit
Drivers: Robert Shwartzman, Mick Schumacher and Pietro Fittipaldi
Laps / Distance: 130 laps / 686.53 kilometers (426.59 miles)
Best Lap Time: 1:25.348 (1st overall)
Most Laps: 151 laps by Carlos Sainz of Scuderia Ferrari