It’s (already) the start of the 2023 school year in Abu Dhabi

The alarm clock stung. Accustomed to arriving at the stroke of 11 a.m. all weekend due to the late running planned here on the Abu Dhabi circuit during the Grand Prix, most of the drivers this time arrived at the stroke of 7:45 a.m. this Tuesday morning, in order to to begin their 2023 season in a way. After a transition day on Monday, which allowed the new recruits to mold their seats and discover their new engineers, it was only this Tuesday morning that the action on the track was back. 

At 9 a.m. sharp, most of the drivers were already leaving the pit lane and entering the already hot Yas Marina track. Each team was required to entrust a car to a starter and a rookie, and everyone was shod with Pirelli 2023 tires, with a very precise program laid down by Pirelli which had to be followed to the letter. Very quickly, eyes turned to the garages Alpine et Aston Martin. More than Fernando Alonso in the French ranks, after two years of good and loyal service. The Spaniard was in fact making his first laps with the Aston Martin team, which he joined via a contract signed last summer. 

Small peculiarity on the green car flanked by No. 14: none of the sponsors appearing on the other car driven by Felipe Drugovich did not appear on his. Always linked to Alpine until the end of the year, Alonso was authorized by the teamenstone to take part in this test day, provided of course that you respect the commercial agreements in force and go without a sponsor. Likewise, the native of Oviedo sported a suit completely devoid of sponsors, like Pierre Gasly moreover, who donned a full gray jumpsuit. 

First lap as year Alpine driver for @PierreGASLY! 👋 pic.twitter.com/NjD7IzD5pL

—BWT Alpine F1 Team (@AlpineF1Team) November 22, 2022

If the Spaniard shared his car with his future teammate Lance stroll (who took over the wheel at the start of the afternoon), the Norman was in the cockpit of the A522 all day. The goal ? Become familiar with his new environment, initiate a working relationship with the French team, and above all get his bearings behind the wheel of a single-seater with characteristics different from the AT03 that he has driven all year. 

At the 14 p.m. check-in, Charles Leclerc largely led the timesheet, 7/10th ahead of his one-day teammate Robert Shwartzman. The two new recruits from Aston Martin andAlpine, Fernando Alonso and Pierre Gasly, also stood out with the 3rd and 5th times, sandwiching Sergio Pérez. Note that the morning was disrupted by a red flag for around ten minutes, after the McLaren byOscar piastri was stopped on the track. 

Theo Pourchaire was in theAlfa Romeo C42 this Tuesday. © AUTOhebdo

For his part, Frenchman Théo Pourchaire took part in his third run in F1, after his private test at the Hungaroring in 2021, and his participation in Free Practice 1 of the United States Grand Prix last October. After two installation relays, the Tricolore began to push on Mediums, taking their marks step by step and settling in the middle of the table less than half a second behind. Valtteri Bottas (difference to be taken with a grain of salt due to the different programs imposed by Pirelli).

When he stopped for the lunch break, he was in 13th place, in times similar to those of Liam Lawson (Red Bull) and Jack Doohan (Alpine), and even in front of Nyck De Vries, Oscar Piastri and Nico Hulkenberg, back at Haas after three years on the sidelines. To note that Carlos Sainz, Max Verstappen, Lance Stroll and Lewis Hamilton are expected to take the wheel of their respective teammates early in the afternoon.

At 18 p.m., it will then be vacation time for everyone. Not quite yet for the circuit staff, however, since the end-of-season tests of Formula 2 will take over Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. We will find Théo Pourchaire, Victor Martins, Clément Novalak and Isack Hadjar on the French side. 

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