The champagne has barely stopped bubbling after last season's Formula One campaign, but work has already begun on the new season.
With Sunday's Grand Prix finale fresh in their minds, drivers have remained in Abu Dhabi for a series of F1 testing sessions – with Norfolk's George Russell among the many put through their paces.
Russell is one of the new boys on the F1 block, and says his first testing the Pirelli tyres in the Williams was 'very positive'.
Russell – who clinched the F2 title at the weekend – completed 42 laps of the Yas Marina circuit before handing over to team-mate Robert Kubica.
'I am very pleased with how my first test with Williams has gone,' Russell told the Williams web site. 'Overall it was very positive. It has been fantastic to get to know everybody and gain an understanding of how the team works, and of course driving the car. I was pleasantly surprised with how the car was feeling and I think we made some good steps ahead of 2019. The tyre test was very beneficial to the team – they have gathered some really good information, which provides a great idea going into the first test and races.
'Working with Robert during the test was great – he has so much engineering knowledge from his past experiences. I believe we can have a positive effect and push the team in the right direction to get more performance. There is no time to rest over the next few weeks, I will be very busy attending events such as the Autosport, BRDC awards and a Mercedes event.
'On top of that, a lot of work in Grove with Williams, and preparing for the 2019 season to make sure that I am physically prepared come the test.'
Russell and Kubica will be involved in discussions over testing before decisions are made o n tyre use.
'At the moment we are testing in very hot conditions, but winter testing and the first few races will be different conditions,' said Kubica. 'We will go through the programme we ran over the last two days, and I'll sit down with the guys and George to decide on the tyres for winter testing and the first four races. I am working well with George. He is very nice guy, and we have a good collaboration which is key for us and for the team.'
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