Abu Dhabi Test: Day 2 Recap
December 4, 2019
Date: Wednesday, December 4
Location: Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi, UAE
Layout: 5.554-kilometer (3.451-mile), 21-turn circuit
Driver: Pietro Fittipaldi
Laps Completed: 135 laps
Distance Completed: 749.79 kilometers (465.885 miles)
Best Lap Time: 1:39.682 (8th overall)
Fastest Lap: 1:37.204 by George Russell of Mercedes
Most Laps: 146 laps by Pierre Gasly of Toro Rosso
Rundown
Haas F1 Team test driver Pietro Fittipaldi drove the VF-19 on the second and final day of post-season testing Wednesday at Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi. A total of 11 drivers participated in the test representing all 10 teams to have contested the 2019 FIA Formula One World Championship.
Wednesday’s outing marked Fittipaldi’s fourth stint behind the wheel of the VF-19 in 2019 following runs in Barcelona in February during pre-season testing, as well as in-season tests in Bahrain and Barcelona in April and May respectively.
The 23-year-old recorded 135 laps around the 5.554-kilometer (3.451-mile), 21-turn Yas Marina Circuit – the same track where the Miami-born Brazilian made his Formula One test debut last November in the Haas VF-18.
Fittipaldi clocked the 8th quickest time of the day courtesy of a 1:39.682 lap utilizing the 2019 Pirelli C5 tire compound.
George Russell banked Wednesday’s fastest lap for Mercedes – a 1:37.204, while Toro Rosso logged the most laps with Pierre Gasly (146).
Haas F1 Team finished the final test of the year accumulating 281 laps and 1560.674 kilometers (969.731 miles) between Grosjean (146 laps) and Fittipaldi (135 laps).
Pietro Fittipaldi, Driver No. 51, Haas F1 Team
“It was really good to be back testing, it’s been six months since I was last in the car in May at Barcelona. We got a lot of laps in today, a lot of long runs, which was good. I’ve been racing DTM this season, so then you come into a Formula One car and you get hit with the g-forces again through the corners, it’s really physical if you haven’t been driving one for a while. That said, I’m always happy to get into a Formula One car. Crucially we did everything we wanted to do today in terms of the run plan. We ran some pretty good laps and tested the 2019 tires versus the 2020 ones – mixing it up over some short and long runs to see the differences. It’s been really good, I’m happy with our day, and of course I’ve enjoyed working with the whole team.”