Jak Crawford tops Abu Dhabi post-season test as F1 teams test mule cars for 2026 rules

Jak Crawford topped the timesheets for Aston Martin in the annual post-season test in Abu Dhabi as the curtain came down on the track action in Formula 1 in 2025.

Each team was obliged to run two cars at the Yas Marina Circuit, with one adapted to mirror the reduced downforce levels expected with the new regulations in 2026.

The permanent race drivers were the ones who drove the mule cars with Pirelli’s 2026 compounds, while the other 10 machines were restricted to rookie participants.

With the cars at the rookies’ disposal being run in the standard spec used across 2025, Crawford concluded proceedings on top with a 1:23.766s in the Aston Martin.

Paul Aron ended up second quickest in the Sauber, less than a tenth behind Crawford, while Luke Browning was 0.154 seconds behind the benchmark in his Williams.

Frederik Vesti was given another runout with Mercedes, managing 145 laps, albeit eight tenths down on the ultimate time, with Ayumi Iwasa rounding out the top five.

Andrea Kimi Antonelli was next up in the other Mercedes and the lead driver among those using the mule cars, almost a second quicker than Oscar Piastri’s McLaren.