Post-season Abu Dhabi test takes first steps into F1’s new future – PlanetF1

December 9, 2025 admin

The start/finish straight of the Yas Marina Circuit, home of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
Closing the 2025 chapter in Abu Dhabi on Sunday, Formula 1 begins a new one on Tuesday when the drivers return to the track for the end-of-season Pirelli tyre test.
And every team will run one mule car that is setup to mimic next year’s car characteristics to give Pirelli the opportunity in a group setting to see its F1 2026 tyres in action.
After the season-ending Abu Dhabi race weekend, the teams remained at the Yas Marina Circuit to prepare for the post-season test.
All 10 teams will feature two cars, one of which will be the standard F1 2025 machinery driven by a young driver.
The other car will be specially adapted to simulate what might be expected of the 2026 cars, as Formula 1 moves away from ground-effect aerodynamics to run smaller, lighter challengers that utilise active aerodynamics. The downforce levels will also be different, so this test allows Pirelli to gather data on its 2026 tyres.
Even those undergoing significant changes, as the cars will run slimmer front tyres, 25mm narrower than the current edition, while the rears will be 30mm narrower. They’ll also weigh less, 300g and 500g, respectively.
The drivers running the mule cars will use Pirelli’s C2, C3, C4 and C5 tyres with the young drivers on C3, C4 and C5s.
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“It was more difficult for teams to estimate the performance of their 2026 cars at the end of the season,” Pirelli’s Mario Isola explained. “But we needed those simulations because we needed to design a product that is lasting for one year.
“If they just give us an idea of the car performance at the start of the season, and if we don’t know what the rate of development will be, then it’s difficult for us.”
“We have discussed some limitations with the teams, based on those first tests,” Isola continued.
“For example, we decided to avoid overloading the tyres on the straights. We were testing with a speed limit at 290km/h or 300km/h, because clearly they will have a lot less downforce on the straights next year.
“So we agreed on some methodologies for testing with the teams. Thanks to these methodologies it was possible to have feedback from the mule cars that was a little bit more coherent, more close.”
Tuesday’s test gets underway at 09:00 local time and run until 18:00. Every time will field two cars, but the focus will be split.
Max Verstappen, George Russell, and neither Aston Martin driver nor Franco Colapinto will be present.
However, F1’s new World Champion, Lando Norris, will lay down the laps as he shares the driving duties with his teammate Oscar Piastri.
McLaren: Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri / Pato O’Ward
Mercedes: Kimi Antonelli / Frederik Vesti
Red Bull: Isack Hadjar / Ayumu Iwasa
Ferrari: Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton / Dino Beganovic
Williams: Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz / Luke Browning
Racing Bulls: Liam Lawson / Arvid Lindblad
Aston Martin: Stoffel Vandoorne / Jak Crawford
Haas: Oliver Bearman and Esteban Ocon / Ryo Hirakawa
Sauber: Gabriel Bortoleto and Nico Hulkenberg / Paul Aron
Alpine: Pierre Gasly / Kush Maini
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