Why F1’s first glimpses of its new era proved inconclusive

As Max Verstappen partied until the sun came up following his dramatic world title win in Abu Dhabi, he was celebrating what he called his “final achievement”. Verstappen always made clear that winning the world championship
 would not change his life: even in the immediate aftermath of his win, he repeated his feeling that since he had now accomplished what he had set out to do, any success beyond this would be a bonus. But a little under 48 hours after he finally made it to bed, Max was back in the cockpit and in 
full title defence mode.

Post-season testing in Abu Dhabi might lack the glamour of the race weekend, or the full-on intrigue of pre-season running in Spain or Bahrain but, in 2021, the two-day session was packed with portents of the far-reaching changes to come. Unlike the 2020 one-day ‘rookie’ test in Abu Dhabi, notable largely for the incongruous presence of Fernando Alonso, December’s running had a proper structure and greater meaning. It was the final opportunity for teams to gather
 data before the start of winter testing in February, when 
the much-anticipated new generation of cars will appear.