Mercedes quickest of mule cars as Crawford tops Abu Dhabi F1 test

Two days after the conclusion of the 2025 season, F1 teams switched all focus to 2026’s new era. At Yas Marina Circuit, the traditional post-season test had a dual purpose this time.

Each team took to the track with one mule car to test Pirelli’s new 2026 tyres. The mule cars are still ground-effect machinery, but have been modified to mimic next year’s downforce levels – mainly by changing the wing levels (Monza style) and ride height. The other 10 cars were allocated to rookies in the young drivers’ test.

Max Verstappen and George Russell were “fortunately” allowed to skip the post-season test, to use the Dutchman’s own words. Instead, Red Bull put Isack Hadjar in the mule car to give him an early feel for the 2026 rubber, with Ayumu Iwasa serving as its rookie. Next year’s F1 debutant Arvid Lindblad got his chance with sister squad Racing Bulls.

At McLaren and Ferrari, all regular drivers were present, each completing half a day of running. Andrea Kimi Antonelli handled the full Tuesday for Mercedes – the team that attracted the most attention in the pitlane once the light went green.

Mercedes tested active aerodynamics on its front wing for the first time, offering a preview of what’s to come in 2026. The Silver Arrow featured a prototype that had been approved by the FIA, allowing Antonelli’s front wing to switch into a low-downforce and low-drag mode along the straights, exactly as will happen next year.

The differences between the mule cars and the rookie cars – which, in addition to running more downforce, were still on 2025 tyres – meant that the young drivers locked out the fastest times. Luke Browning set the pace in the morning with a 1m23.920s in his Williams. That target time stood until the sun had almost set in Abu Dhabi and temperatures dropped.

Aston Martin junior Jak Crawford took full advantage of the cooler conditions, clocking a 1m23.766s to go to the top. The American beat Alpine’s Paul Aron, who stepped into the Sauber for this occasion, and Browning. Mercedes reserve driver Frederik Vesti and Iwasa rounded out the top five.

Antonelli followed in sixth place as the fastest mule-car driver. With a best lap of 1m25.170s, he was almost one-and-a-half seconds slower than Crawford. The Italian was also nearly a second quicker than the next mule-car driver: Oscar Piastri in P10.

Because Antonelli ran with active aerodynamics, he did not have to adhere to the 300km/h straightline speed limit imposed by Pirelli as the loads on the tyres will be different on the straights next year. Antonelli was also the most productive driver of the day, completing 157 laps.

The test ran without significant issues apart from a crash by Ryo Hirakawa. His incident at Turn 1 caused a red flag and damage to the rear wing, although the Japanese driver was able to return to the track soon after. Esteban Ocon completed only four laps in the afternoon due to apparent technical issues at Haas.

2025 Abu Dhabi post-season test results

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– The Autosport.com Team