What the teams had to say following today's test at the Yas Marina Circuit.

Mercedes

Regular race driver Kimi Antonelli along with Reserve Driver Fred Vesti were on track in Abu Dhabi today. Kimi was behind the wheel of the team's 'mule car' for the Pirelli Tyre Test aimed at evaluating 2026 tyre compounds along with simulating some of the new elements of 2026 F1 including active aerodynamics. Fred meanwhile was driving an unmodified W16 on the 2025 tyre compounds in the Young Driver Test. Kimi completed 156 laps of running with Fred fitting in 145 laps of the 5.281km Yas Marina Circuit. The test saw the final competitive running of the current turbo-hybrid era Power Units and the ground effect rules cars before the next generation of F1 beckons in 2026.

Kimi Antonelli: I am happy with our day's work here in Abu Dhabi. It all went very smoothly, and we were able to complete nearly 160 laps of running. That is valuable data that we have gathered about the 2026 tyres that we will evaluate and utilise ahead of next season.

I want to say a massive thank you to the whole team, both here trackside and those colleagues at the factories in Brackley and Brixworth too, for all their hard work. Even though we've just finished this year, and my own rookie season, I can't wait to get started on what is ahead. We've got a big few months ahead of us with the exciting challenge that next year presents and it's one all of us are looking forward to.

Fred Vesti: That is the Young Driver Test complete and, at 145 laps, the most running I've ever done in an F1 car in one day! We worked through eight sets of tyres and completed our whole programme. It's been a positive day with lots of good work accomplished by the team. I was in the simulator last week, got to drive the car today, and will be in the simulator next week so that is useful for my own learning but also the wider work we are doing in the virtual world.

We now move on to 2026 which will be such an exciting year for everyone. I have been working hard with colleagues at Brackley on the development of next season's car and I am excited for the weeks and months ahead as our preparations continue apace for the next generation of F1.

Andrew Shovlin, Trackside Engineering Director: We've had a very useful day of running with both cars here in Abu Dhabi. Kimi experienced the 2026 Pirelli tyres and completed 156 laps. We were able to have a first look at the final compounds and casings for next year and completed several tests to understand how they respond to setup changes. He was also running a lower downforce level to simulate next year's car too which will be useful data for us to evaluate.

Fred meanwhile was driving the 2025 tyres and completed 145 laps starting with the race setup, then exploring some options to solve the issues we faced in the race weekend. That provided us with some interesting and helpful results whilst this running also gives Fred some very useful real-life experience of the car he has spent so much of the year driving in the simulator. We've got nearly 1600km of data to go through and analyse now. This will all be important parts of our preparation for 2026 and the development of the next year's car.

McLaren

Lando Norris: "It was great to get back out in our Championship-winning car for one last time this year. We worked through the Pirelli testing programme well, giving them valuable feedback to help set us up as well as possible for 2026. Thank you to everyone for their work this year, now it's time for a rest before we go again."

Oscar Piastri: "It was nice to hop back in the MCL39 for one more afternoon after a really successful season. It's always good to support Pirelli and give feedback on the tyres, as well as getting a good feel for them. It's been a busy year, so thank you to the team for their continued work. We now rest, reset and then get our heads into what will be an exciting 2026."

Pato O'Ward: "It's always a great day when you get to drive a Formula 1 car. Having had a successful session in FP1 last week, it was good to be able to keep building on that. We worked through our plan well, making good progress and continuing to learn more and more. Thank you to the team for this opportunity, it's been another brilliant day."

Randy Singh - Racing Director: "We close out the 2025 season with a very successful day of running at the Yas Marina Circuit. It has been a long and exciting season, so thank you to the team for their continued hard work and support.

"Pato took part in our young driver test, ending a busy programme this year across IndyCar and F1. As always, Pato performed well and offered useful feedback and input. Thank you to him for his invaluable support this season.

"Lando and Oscar took the wheel of our mule car, a 2025 car modified to run 2026 tyres, in the morning and afternoon, respectively. We learnt a lot about the 2026 Pirelli tyres, running a range of compounds and beginning to understand their behaviour, working closely with Pirelli.

"Our preparations for 2026 are already well underway, and we look forward to the new era of Formula 1, after a short break to recharge and reset."

Red Bull

Isack Hadjar: "It was great to get my first laps in as an official Oracle Red Bull Racing driver. It's nice to know that I'll be able to come back in January and already have met and worked with more of the Team, having met a lot already through testing over the last couple of years. They welcomed me really well and I already feel comfortable with this group. Of course, this is a totally different car to the one I will be driving in Barcelona but it was good to get a feel of the tyres. It's also important to bank the data now and it'll definitely help over the coming months as we build towards the new season."

Ayumu Iwasa: "I managed to complete a lot of laps at the post-season test today and it was great to work with Oracle Red Bull Racing again. I drove round here on Friday for Visa Cash App Racing Bulls, so it was nice to get back out on track so quickly. It has been a very long season for everyone, and the test comes so soon, but everyone was really focussed on gathering important data heading into a crucial year with the new regulations. I've been able to do a few Formula One tests this season and drove the RB21 in Bahrain for FP1 so it felt good to get back into the car and see how my driving has developed over the last eight months. I hope that the Team can use this data and I was happy the laps I put in."

Ben Waterhouse - Head of Performance Engineering: "We've enjoyed a really successful day of testing here in Abu Dhabi ,rounding out another long season. The programme today was split across both cars, with Isack following the test programme for the 2026 Pirelli tyres and Ayumu doing the Young Drivers' Test for us, where he lapped in the RB21 using the current tyre. Both drivers did an excellent job today, they gave us really detailed feedback and managed to complete the full programmes without any issues for either car. It's been hugely valuable for the Team to work with Isack, it's given us the chance to get to know him better and develop that relationship heading into next year. We'll take the findings from this test back to Milton Keynes and use them to refine our simulation tools ahead of Barcelona in just seven weeks' time. Finally, I'd like to say a big thank you to Honda for providing us with great Power Units and phenomenal support over the last seven years. They've been a fantastic partner and we look forward to racing them next year."

Ferrari

Today, all teams took part in the one and only day of post-season testing at the Yas Marina circuit. Driving for Scuderia Ferrari HP were Charles Leclerc, Lewis Hamilton and Dino Beganovic. The two race drivers were at the wheel of the SF-25 mule car to test next year's tyres which while maintaining the 18 inch rim diameter, are slightly narrower than the 2025 specification. Dino drove the standard SF-25 to gain useful experience and knowledge relating to the behaviour of the car in various configurations. Charles ran the C5, C4 and C3 compounds, setting his best time of 1'26"417 on the C5. In total, he did 75 laps, equivalent to 396 kilometres. Lewis took over from Charles for the afternoon running a similar programme to his team-mate, He completed 73 laps (386 kilometres) using the C2, C3, C4 and C5 compounds, setting his best time of 1'26"138 on the C5s. Over the course of the day, running this year's Pirelli's tyres, Dino completed a total of 122 laps (644 kilometres). His best time was 1'25"720 on the C5 compound. The team completed its programme, acquiring plenty of data that will be useful for next year.

Charles Leclerc: It was a very positive test day: we had a lot of things to try and it was fundamental to work on the tyres to start understanding them. Everything we learned will go with us into next year.

It's the last day of this season, but at the same time the first of the next. Thank you so much to everyone for the support you gave me this year. See you next year!

Lewis Hamilton: We tested the new tyres today to help us gain a better understanding of how they will perform. We worked through our programme, made some good findings, and overall it was a very positive day. I'm really grateful to everyone in the garage for pushing through this extra day of testing, which is not easy at the end of a long season.

Dino Beganovic: I had a very good day in Abu Dhabi. It was really nice to be back in the car with Scuderia Ferrari HP, it's always a very special feeling. We completed all the planned programme, which was our main target, and I'm really happy with how everything went. I found my references quite quickly and in the afternoon we did some long runs, during which I had a lot of fun. I'd like to thank the team for the opportunity and I'm looking forward to next season.

Aston Martin

Aston Martin Aramco brought its 2025 on-track activities to a close today with a comprehensive post-season programme in Abu Dhabi, completing a total of 227 laps of the 5.554km Yas Marina Circuit across the Pirelli Tyre Test and the Young Driver Test.

Test & Reserve Driver Stoffel Vandoorne returned to the cockpit for a day dedicated to testing the new range of Pirelli tyres for the 2026 Formula 1 season. His programme focused on understanding compound behaviour across a mixture of long and short runs while gathering valuable data. He completed 108 laps (571km).

Young Development Driver Jak Crawford, fresh from finishing second in the 2025 FIA Formula 2 Championship and completing his second Formula One FP1 session of the year, took part in the Young Driver Test. In his third outing in the AMR25 in the past two months, Jak completed 119 laps (629km), working through varying set-up explorations and long-run evaluations.

With the 2025 post-season test complete, the team now returns to the AMR Technology Campus where development of the AMR26 continues during the busy winter months.

Stoffel Vandoorne: "It's always valuable to get back in the car and contribute to the team's development. Today was focused on understanding the characteristics of the 2026 Pirelli tyres, and we were able to complete a full programme with plenty of representative running. The tyres behave differently to the current compounds, so getting an early read on them is important. I hope the team will be pleased with the data we're bringing back to the factory as we look ahead to next season."

Jak Crawford: "Every time I get in the AMR25, I feel myself taking another step forward. Today's focus was on building mileage and understanding how to adapt the car to different setup profiles. I'm grateful to the team for the opportunity today as well as FP1 last week, and I'm really happy with how both sessions went. I'm now looking forward to some time off before stepping into the role of the team's Third Driver next year."

Alpine

Pierre Gasly: "That rounds off our on-track running for 2025. We did a lot of laps today with the 2026 Pirelli tyres which is definitely important to do and gives us plenty of things to look at over the winter. It has been a long year for all of us. Some highs, probably too many lows, but that is how it goes and I know we will come back stronger in 2026. I know everyone is ready for a rest, me included, but we have a few more weeks of hard work before the break and everyone at the factory is putting in huge amounts of effort ahead of next season. Thanks to everyone at the team for their incredible dedication and effort, especially at these busy past few weeks."

Kush Maini: "What an amazing experience for me. Firstly, thanks to the team for the opportunity and for all their effort in helping me prepare and executing a really solid day. Everyone at the team has been super to work with, so professional and I have learned a lot today. I felt comfortable and I could just focus everything on completing the run plans, lap by lap. The car ran well, it is just so well engineered and nice to drive, so physically it felt good, but maybe I will have some fatigue in the coming days. It was really cool to have Pierre next to me; he is probably the best driver coach to have so thanks to him too. I think today will take a while to sink in and I am just really grateful to have had this chance."

Dave Greenwood: "Today was our final on-track running of 2025 at the Abu Dhabi post-season test. Kush has had a smooth day in the car, for his first time in a full test session with the team in an official capacity. He worked very hard with the engineers in preparation and has given us some very good feedback from his running, so well done to him for his enthusiasm and professionalism. Pierre has been in the mule car with 2026 Pirelli tyres. This is useful work for both Pirelli and for us as we have our full focus on next year. We have a lot of useful data for our preparation over the winter which will help us when we start back on-track in just over a month's time in the new car. Preparations are well underway for the 2026 car back at the factory and we have a busy couple of weeks until the winter break to make good headway for next season. Well done to the entire team for their dedication in recent weeks across the two different projects."

Check out our gallery from Yas Marina, here.