Fernando Alonso set the quickest time during Formula 1’s post-season test at the Yas Marina Circuit on Tuesday, which brought on-track action for 2020 to a close.
All bar McLaren and Racing Point stayed on for one day of running following Sunday’s season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, with non-full-time 2020 racers eligible to participate.
Seven teams fielded two cars while Haas entered just one for Mick Schumacher.
Alonso set a quickest time of 1:36.333 in Renault’s R.S.20 to top the timesheets as he continued to prepare for his 2021 return, when the team will be known as Alpine.
Mercedes, as throughout the Abu Dhabi weekend, finished second and third overall, with Formula E racers Nyck de Vries and Stoffel Vandoorne entrusted with test duties.
De Vries, in his first Formula 1 test, finished 0.262s behind two-time World Champion Alonso, with reserve driver Vandoorne half a second down on his former McLaren team-mate.
Alfa Romeo’s Robert Kubica was fourth, ahead of Red Bull junior Yuki Tsunoda, whose graduation to a 2021 AlphaTauri seat is expected to be ratified in the coming days.
The five quickest drivers all set their best time on Pirelli’s C5 tyre, which acted as the Soft compound at last weekend’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Another Red Bull junior, Juri Vips, was sixth overall, as he got behind the wheel of the team’s RB16, with his best time coming on C4s.
Antonio Fuoco had an outing in Ferrari’s SF1000 and placed seventh, ahead of Academy driver Callum Ilott, who took eighth for Alfa Romeo, in front of Renault tester Guanyu Zhou.
Sakhir Grand Prix debutant Jack Aitken rounded out the top 10 for Williams, in front of Ferrari’s Robert Shwartzman, who completed the most mileage as he amassed 129 laps in the SF1000.
Long-time Red Bull reserve Sebastien Buemi suffered a spin into the Turn 19 barriers early on in the day as he took 12th overall, ahead of Marino Sato – who tested for AlphaTauri – and Williams tester Roy Nissany.
Formula 2 champion Schumacher finished at the rear of the 15-driver field as he continued to get up to speed with Haas ahead of his 2021 race debut.
The next official track action is scheduled to be pre-season testing, currently planned to take place at Spain’s Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, from March 2 to 4.
| Driver | Team | Tyre | Time | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fernando Alonso | Renault | C5 | 1:36.333 | 105 |
| Nyck de Vries | Mercedes | C5 | 1:36.595 | 110 |
| Stoffel Vandoorne | Mercedes | C5 | 1:36.840 | 82 |
| Robert Kubica | Alfa Romeo | C5 | 1:37.446 | 89 |
| Yuki Tsunoda | AlphaTauri | C5 | 1:37.557 | 123 |
| Juri Vips | Red Bull | C4 | 1:37.770 | 101 |
| Antonio Fuoco | Ferrari | C5 | 1:37.817 | 126 |
| Callum Ilott | Alfa Romeo | C5 | 1;37.826 | 93 |
| Guanyu Zhou | Renault | C5 | 1:37.902 | 98 |
| Jack Aitken | Williams | C4 | 1:38.153 | 78 |
| Robert Shwartzman | Ferrari | C5 | 1:38.157 | 129 |
| Sebastien Buemi | Red Bull | C4 | 1:38.284 | 77 |
| Marino Sato | AlphaTauri | C4 | 1:38.495 | 127 |
| Roy Nissany | Williams | C4 | 1:39.800 | 75 |
| Mick Schumacher | Haas | C5 | 1:39.947 | 125 |
