Formula 1: The young driver who blew everybody away in testing

“Young driver” Fernando Alonso topped the speed chart in the young driver test at Yas Marina Circuit following the conclusion of the 2020 Formula 1 season.

Formula 1‘s annual young driver test took place at Yas Marina Circuit earlier this week following this past weekend’s season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix at the track, and it was “young driver” Fernando Alonso who topped the speed charts.

Alonso drove for Renault, which are set to be rebranded as Alpine next year, in this test. It was announced in July that he would come out of retirement to compete for the team on a two-year deal beginning next year. He initially retired after the 2018 season.

The 39-year-old Spaniard was granted special dispensation by the FIA to participate in this test as he prepares to return for 2021, despite the fact that he is a two-time world champion who ranks sixth on the all-time wins list with 32 victories and has 17 seasons of experience — and the fact that he is nearly twice as old as many of the actual “young drivers” who participated.

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Two other veteran “young drivers” competed in the session as well, with 36-year-old Robert Kubica driving for Alfa Romeo and 32-year-old Sebastien Buemi driving for Red Bull. But neither one of them is set to compete in Formula 1 next year.

A total of 1,538 laps around the 21-turn, 3.451-mile (5.554-kilometer) road course on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates were completed by the 15 drivers who participated in this test. Alonso finished right around the average with 105 laps run. Robert Schwartzman, who finished in 11th place for Ferrari, topped the field with 129 laps run.

Of the 15 drivers who competed in this session, only three are lined up to compete in Formula 1 next year. Aside from Alonso, the other two are Yuki Tsunoda, who is set to compete for AlphaTauri, and Mick Schumacher, the Formula 2 champion who is set to compete for Haas.

Alonso finished atop the speed charts by recording a top lap time of 96.393 seconds (128.885 miles per hour), which was 0.202 seconds (0.270 miles per hour) quicker than the top lap of second place finisher Nyck de Vries, who tested for Mercedes and ran a top lap at 96.595 seconds (128.615 miles per hour).

Stoffel Vandoorne, who also tested for Mercedes, was the only other driver who finished within one second of Alonso, as he recorded a top lap time of 96.840 seconds (128.290 miles per hour).

Here is what Alonso had to say about his return to the cockpit, according to Formula 1.

"“It was good and very nice to be back in the car especially with the race team. I’ve been testing the 2018 car in preparation but this one felt a bit more serious and it ignited a little bit the competitive spirit. It was great to feel the modern cars and experience what they can do. I was watching the team’s progress at the weekend closely and it was nice to experience what I learnt from the outside and then inside the cockpit today.“We signed off lots of basic things we did in preparation at the factory like seat fitting, pedal position and so on, which is beneficial with only one and a half days of winter testing next year. We ticked boxes today and we go into Christmas and New Year with good spirit and everyone motivated in the team.”"

Here are the full results of the 2020 Abu Dhabi young driver test.

Position – Driver, Team
1st – Fernando Alonso, Renault
2nd – Nyck de Vries, Mercedes
3rd – Stoffel Vandoorne, Mercedes
4th – Robert Kubica, Alfa Romeo
5th – Yuki Tsunoda, AlphaTauri
6th – Juri Vips, Red Bull
7th – Antonio Fuoco, Ferrari
8th – Callum Ilott, Alfa Romeo
9th – Guanyu Zhou, Renault
10th – Jack Aitken, Williams
11th – Robert Shwartzman, Ferrari
12th – Sebastien Buemi, Red Bull
13th – Marino Sato, AlphaTauri
14th – Roy Nissany, Williams
15th – Mick Schumacher, Haas

The only two teams which did not field a car in this test were McLaren and Racing Point.

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The 2021 season Formula 1 season is scheduled to get underway in just over three months on Sunday, March 21 with the Australian Grand Prix at Albert Park Grand Prix Circuit.

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