Aston Martin rookie Jak Crawford ended Formula 1’s final on-track running of 2025 as the fastest man in Abu Dhabi, topping a busy day that doubled as the sport’s first collective leap toward its 2026 rules revolution.
Two days after the chequered flag fell on the season, teams returned to the Yas Marina Circuit for a packed post-season programme split between rookie mileage and mule-car testing for Pirelli’s next-generation tyres.
Each team fielded a single mule car configured to approximate 2026 performance levels—achieved through trimmed wings reminiscent of Monza and raised ride heights—while their second entries were handed to young drivers.
With the two groups running different downforce levels and different tyres, the timing sheets naturally favoured the rookies.
Crawford Leads the Young Guns
Williams junior Luke Browning held the benchmark for most of the day with a 1m23.920s lap set in the morning, but it was Crawford who delivered when the circuit reached its quickest phase.
In the cool dusk air, the American fired in a 1m23.766s to claim the top spot for Aston Martin, edging Alpine protégé Paul Aron—driving a Sauber for the occasion—and the earlier pacesetter Browning.
Mercedes reserve Frederik Vesti slotted into fourth, followed by Ayumu Iwasa for Red Bull. Arvid Lindblad, making an early appearance ahead of his 2026 debut, logged steady mileage for Racing Bulls.
Regular race drivers were also on duty elsewhere: McLaren and Ferrari split their running between their established line-ups, while Max Verstappen and George Russell were permitted to skip the test entirely, with Isack Hadjar and Iwasa covering Red Bull’s duties.
Antonelli Tops Mule-Car Field as Mercedes Debuts Active Aero
The most scrutinised car on track belonged to Mercedes, which unveiled an FIA-approved prototype front wing incorporating active aerodynamics for the first time.
Kimi Antonelli, handling mule-car duties alone for the Brackley squad, ran a system capable of switching the front wing into a low-drag, straight-line configuration – a preview of the active aero concept set to define 2026.
The young Italian ended the day sixth overall on a 1m25.170s, making him the quickest of the mule-car group by a convincing margin. His time was nearly 1.5 seconds adrift of Crawford’s leading benchmark but still roughly a second quicker than the next mule entry, Oscar Piastri, who closed out the top ten.
Because Mercedes’ prototype wing reproduced the expected aerodynamic loads of 2026, Antonelli was exempt from Pirelli’s 300 km/h straight-line speed limit, a restriction normally imposed to protect tyres on mule cars.
The Mercedes charger capitalised on the freedom, chalking up a mammoth 157 laps – the highest tally of the day – as the Silver Arrows squad gathered crucial data on both tyre behaviour and active aero integration.
Elsewhere, the day ran mostly smoothly aside from a Turn 1 crash for Ryo Hirakawa, which caused a brief red flag and rear-wing damage but did not end his running. Esteban Ocon’s afternoon was more severely compromised, with the Haas driver logging only four laps due to technical gremlins.
With the final laps of 2025 complete, teams now turn their attention to the fundamental overhaul awaiting them in 2026—one that already feels closer after Tuesday’s revealing test.
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