Valtteri Bottas was the quickest man during the first day of post-season testing in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday, posting a 1:43.396, putting him almost half a second clear of Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen.
Sebastian Vettel was left watching from the Ferrari garage after Red Bull denied him early leave from his contract to get behind the wheel of the F14T.
Nico Rosberg as third for Mercedes, with Force India’s Jolyon Palmer fourth and Carlos Sainz Jr. fifth for Red Bull.
McLaren’s MP4-29H/1X1 made its public debut, but not until the afternoon after electrical problems kept Stoffel Vandoorne in the garage.
On its first lap of three, Vandoorne had to coast into the pits after the new Honda engine stalled, but he reappeared two hours later and caused a red flag when he stopped on track.
Max Verstappen’s day went even worse when his car ended up in the wall following a suspension failure.
Full Times – Abu Dhabi Post-Season Test:
| # | Driver | Team | Time | Gap | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Valtteri Bottas | Williams | 1:43.396 | 80 | |
| 02 | Kimi Raikkonen | Ferrari | 1:43.888 | 0.492 | 81 |
| 03 | Nico Rosberg | Mercedes | 1:44.512 | 1.116 | 114 |
| 04 | Jolyon Palmer | Force India | 1:44.516 | 1.120 | 37 |
| 05 | Carlos Sainz Jr. | Red Bull | 1:45.339 | 1.943 | 100 |
| 06 | Will Stevens | Caterham | 1:45.436 | 2.040 | 102 |
| 07 | Charles Pic | Lotus | 1:46.167 | 2.771 | 89 |
| 08 | Marcus Ericsson | Sauber | 1:46.487 | 3.091 | 95 |
| 09 | Max Verstappen | Toro Rosso | 1:47.194 | 3.798 | 55 |
| 10 | Stoffel Vandoorne | McLaren | 3 |
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