Yas Marina, 24 November – The 2014 Formula 1 season has finished but Formula 1’s engines are ready to start up again as early as tomorrow for two days of testing on the Abu Dhabi circuit. For Scuderia Ferrari the first driver to take to the Yas Marina track will be Kimi Raikkonen, who will then hand the wheel of the F14 T to Ferrari Driver Academy apprentice Raffaele Marciello.
Debut. The young driver, who made his GP2 debut in 2014 and took victory at Spa-Francorchamps, will be the first Italian to drive for Ferrari in an official test session since Davide Rigon at the Silverstone test of summer 2013. For him this is another major step in the course of training and education that the FDA lines up for its talents under the guidance of Luca Baldisserri. Marciello is impatient to get going, adding: “I can’t wait to come out of the garage at the wheel of the F14 T; it will definitely be a special emotion.”
Programme. The two days of testing will see the Scuderia carry out a programme of development and experimentation with 2015 in mind. The conditions for the test, which will run throughout the day, will be different from those of yesterday’s race. Despite that it will be possible to make useful comparisons with the data gathered during the weekend of the Grand Prix, to report back to Maranello for a comparative analysis on the various components.