With the Formula One World Championship settled for another season, the teams took a well-earned day off. And then they were back at it on the Tuesday after the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix for the Young Drivers Test. Not surprisingly, the team that seemed to have dominated the entire season dominated this test as well. However, we did get a glimpse at some of F1’s future stars as well.

Day 1 (November 16)

Adrian Newey’s Red Bull RB6 was the fastest car all season. It’s not surprising, therefore, that the fastest car in the rookie test was also the Red Bull RB6 piloted by Daniel Ricciardo. He was runner-up in this year’s Formula Renault 3.5 championship to Mikhail Aleshin who was sixth on Tuesday driving for Renault. Oliver Turvey was second for McLaren which could also be put down to the car as it was second fastest to Red Bull at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Rounding out the top three was 19-year-old Antonio Felix da Costa who was the top rookie in this year’s F3 Euroseries championship.

1. Daniel Ricciardo – Red Bull-Renault – 1:39.616
2. Oliver Turvey – McLaren-Mercedes – 1:40.725
3. Antonio Felix da Costa – Force India-Mercedes – 1:41.381
4. Esteban Gutierrez – Sauber-Ferrari – 1:41.432
5. Dean Stoneman – Williams-Cosworth – 1:41.522
6. Mikhail Aleshin – Renault – 1:42.073
7. Jean-Eric Vergne – Toro Rosso-Ferrari – 1:42.489
8. Paul di Resta – Force India-Mercedes – 1:42.736
9. Sam Bird – Mercedes – 1:42.985
10. Jerome D’Ambrosio – Virgin-Cosworth – 1:43.518
11. Pastor Maldonado – HRT-Cosworth – 1:43.750
12. Jules Bianchi – Ferrari – 1:43.894
13. Rodolfo Gonzalez – Lotus-Cosworth – 1:44.924
14. Rio Haryanto – Virgin-Cosworth – 1:49.439

Day 2 (November 17)

For the second day in a row, it was Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo that topped the time sheets. This is the best news that Red Bull’s Driver Development program could have gotten because they’ve yet to produce a top-calibre driver. Even Sebastian Vettel was a product of BMW’s system. Jerome d’Ambrosio was second on the day. He’s best known for being the occasional Friday driver for Virgin F1. Sam Bird, fourth place finisher in this year’s GP2 championship, was third fastest on Wednesday which was a massive improvement on Tuesday’s 9th. It’s also important to note that Sergio Perez was 6th today. He finished second in this year’s GP2 title and will drive for Sauber in 2011.

1. Daniel Ricciardo – Red Bull-Renault –  1:38.102
2. Jerome d’Ambrosio – Renault – 1:38.802
3. Sam Bird – Mercedes – 1:39.220
4. Gary Paffett – McLaren-Mercedes – 1:39.760
5. Jules Bianchi – Ferrari – 1:39.916
6. Sergio Perez – Sauber-Ferrari – 1:40.543
7. Paul di Resta – Force India-Mercedes – 1:40.901
8. Pastor Maldonado – Williams-Cosworth – 1:40.944
9. Jean-Eric Vergne – Toro Rosso-Ferrari – 1:40.974
10. Yelmer Burrman – Force India-Mercedes – 1:41.178
11. Davide Valsecchi – HRT-Cosworth – 1:43.013
12. Luiz Razia – Virgin-Cosworth – 1:43.525
13. Josef Kral – HRT-Cosworth – 1:44.143
14. Rodolfo Gonzalez – Lotus-Cosworth – 1:44.312
15. Vladimiar Arabadzhiev – Lotus-Cosworth – 1:45.723

Test Overall Standings

The times were considerably faster on Wednesday as track conditions improved which will skew the comparison between day one and day two times. However, Ricciardo’s Red Bull was clearly the fastest car on track. Oliver Turvey was the fastest of the driver’s who only participated on Day 1. From there, you have to go down all the way to 12th for Antonio Felix da Costa’s Day 1 time.

1. Daniel Ricciardo – Red Bull-Renault – 1:38.102
2. Jerome d’Ambrosio – Renault – 1:38.802
3. Sam Bird – Mercedes – 1:39.220
4. Gary Paffett – McLaren-Mercedes – 1:39.760
5. Jules Bianchi – Ferrari – 1:39.916
6. Sergio Perez – Sauber-Ferrari – 1:40.543
7. Oliver Turvey – McLaren-Mercedes – 1:40.725
8. Paul di Resta – Force India-Mercedes – 1:40.901
9. Pastor Maldonado – Williams-Cosworth – 1:40.944
10. Jean-Eric Vergne – Toro Rosso-Ferrari – 1:40.974
11. Yelmer Burrman – Force India-Mercedes – 1:41.178
12. Antonio Felix da Costa – Force India-Mercedes – 1:41.381
13. Esteban Gutierrez – Sauber-Ferrari – 1:41.432
14. Dean Stoneman – Williams-Cosworth – 1:41.522
15. Mikhail Aleshin – Renault – 1:42.073
16. Davide Valsecchi – HRT-Cosworth – 1:43.013
17. Jerome D’Ambrosio – Virgin-Cosworth – 1:43.518
18. Luiz Razia – Virgin-Cosworth – 1:43.525
19. Pastor Maldonado – HRT-Cosworth – 1:43.750
20. Josef Kral – HRT -Cosworth – 1:44.143
21. Rodolfo Gonzalez – Lotus-Cosworth – 1:44.312
22. Vladimiar Arabadzhiev – Lotus-Cosworth 1:45.723
23. Rio Haryanto – Virgin-Cosworth – 1:49.439

Note: Drivers who tested for more than one team have their fastest times for each constructor listed.