Max finishes Abu Dhabi tyre test in third

Published on 29 November 2017 by Mike Motilall

Max Verstappen finished the Pirelli tyre test in Abu Dhabi in third (1:38.736). The Red Bull Racing-driver lapped the track no less than 132 times, the equivalent of almost two-and-a-half Grands Prix. Sebastian Vettel noted a 1:37.551 on the Yas Marina Circuit, the quickest of the field. Valtteri Bottas came in second in his Mercedes, almost a second off the pace of the Ferrari.

Sauber running Charles Leclerk, who finished eleventh, was the most productive driver having done 148 laps. In the afternoon, Robert Kubica once again took control of the 2017-Williams, for the second time in a row. The Pole said that, physically speaking, he has faith in returning to the Formula 1, his best time was a 1:39.485. Beating the Russian Sergev Sirotkin by half a second, who has been driving the FW40 the whole day apart from the final few hours.

For Max, these were the final laps in the RB13 and also his final laps this year in a Formula 1-car. It will be another two weeks before the Dutchman can really take some time off. In the meantime, he has some team- and pr-related duties on the agenda.

Pirelli Test Day 2 - Yas Marina Circuit - Wednesday 29 November

01 S. Vettel       Ferrari           1:37.551 118
02 V. Bottas       Mercedes          1:38.490 141
03 M. Verstappen   Red Bull Racing   1:38.736 132
04 S. Perez        Force India       1:38.818 52
05 E. Ocon         Force India       1:39.148 72
06 C. Sainz        Renault           1:39.444 109
07 R. Kubica       Williams          1:39.485 28
08 S. Vandoorne    McLaren           1:39.782 105
09 K. Magnussen    Haas              1:39.810 124
10 S. Sirotkin     Williams          1:39.947 86
11 C. Leclerc      Sauber            1:40.666 148
12 L. Norris       McLaren           1:41.714 118
13 P. Hartley      Toro Rosso        1:43.345 61
14 P. Gasly        Toro Rosso        1:44.827 63