Hamilton back on track for Mercedes in Abu Dhabi tyre test

Lewis Hamilton put aside the controversies surrounding last weekend’s season finale on Tuesday as he rejoined his Mercedes colleagues at Yas Marina for Pirelli tyre testing.

The test is the last in a series conducted this year by Pirelli to evaluate the wider rubber that will feature on next year’s Formula One cars, which are set to look radically different to their 2016 counterparts.

Three teams - Mercedes, Red Bull and Ferrari - are taking part in the final session, with Hamilton due to hand over his car to Mercedes reserve Pascal Wehrlein for this afternoon’s running.

Present for Ferrari is Kimi Raikkonen, while Daniel Ricciardo and team mate Max Verstappen are both in attendance for Red Bull.

The regulation changes for next season mean tyres will be around 25 percent wider, with rears up from 325mm to 405, and fronts up from 245 to 305.

All the teams are using ‘mule’ cars, based on their 2015 machines but modified to simulate the higher levels of downforce expected under next year’s rules.