Alonso will make his debut for the Aston Martin in the Abu Dhabi tyre test, the test will take place following the season's final race.
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Fernando Alonso will make his debut for the Aston Martin Formula One team in the Abu Dhabi tyre test. The test, which will take place on the Tuesday following the season’s final race, will feature two cars per team. One car will be equipped with the definitive 2023 Pirelli tyres, while the other will be driven by rookies. Traditionally, drivers who are changing teams for the following year gain their first experience with their new outfits in Abu Dhabi, assuming they have been able to negotiate a release from their previous teams.
They usually show in neutral or unbranded overalls as part of the arrangement. On Friday, AlphaTauri CEO Franz Tost announced in Mexico that Nyck de Vries will drive for his team, while Pierre Gasly is anticipated to make his Alpine debut as part of the larger deal that released him from the Red Bull camp for 2023.
However, Alpine has not yet released Oscar Piastri to drive for McLaren. “I think our legal teams are discussing that now,” Enstone team boss Otmar Szafnauer said in Mexico. And I’m not sure. There will be more next week, so please contact me in Brazil.” It is understood that Alonso had to obtain permission from Alpine himself, with no actual participation from Aston Martin, and that he was able to do so.
In Abu Dhabi, Fernando Alonso is expected to run half a day of tyre testing, with his new teammate Lance Stroll doing the other half. The Spaniard will be able to log more miles with the AMR22 in Pirelli tyre testing in February, before the launch of the new car, as well as the sole official test session in Bahrain a week before the season’s first race. Meanwhile, Felipe Drugovich is scheduled to drive last year’s Aston Martin AMR21 on the full Silverstone circuit on Tuesday, the same car that Zak O’Sullivan recently used for his Aston Martin Autosport BRDC Young Driver of the Year Award run.
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It will be an important day for the Brazilian as well as the first big step in Felipe Drugovich’s development programme with the team, as he will be required to complete 300 kms in order to qualify for FP1 at the Abu Dhabi GP. If he is incapable of doing so for any reason, the team will be forced to find a replacement, with De Vries being the obvious candidate. Drugovich will, however, be able to participate in the young driver test that accompanies the race weekend.
In other freshman driver reports, Liam Lawson is predicted to replace Max Verstappen in Red Bull’s first practice session in Abu Dhabi, having already completed two sessions for AlphaTauri. After Drugovich has completed his run, Aston Martin Ambassador Jess Hawkins is arranged to run a few laps in the AMR21 on Tuesday.
