ABU DHABI — Carlos Sainz will sample McLaren machinery for the first time at the Yas Marina circuit next weekend.
Sainz is moving from Renault to McLaren for 2019 and will contest his final race for the former at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. The season-ending race is followed by two days of tyre testing at the circuit.
McLaren has confirmed both its 2019 drivers will get a day behind the wheel of its car — British rookie Lando Norris will drive on Tuesday, before handing the car over to Sainz for Wednesday.
Announcing our lineup for next week’s #AbuDhabiGP tyre test, with Carlos Sainz taking the wheel of a McLaren for the first time. 👇
🗓️ Tuesday- @LandoNorris
🗓️ Wednesday – @Carlossainz55 pic.twitter.com/OiHWVQireJ— McLaren (@McLarenF1) November 22, 2018
This weekend McLaren is bidding farewell to both its current drivers, with Fernando Alonso’s final F1 race being marked by a special livery. Alonso’s teammate Stoffel Vandoorne is also leaving F1 at the end of the year and will contest the Formula E season with the Mercedes-linked HWA outfit.
McLaren has endured a difficult first year since its split from Honda power, with the majority of its points coming early in the season. It looks set to hold on to sixth position ahead of Force India, although that team was rebooted over the summer and started on zero points from the Belgian Grand Prix.