Bahrain F1 Testing: Pirelli report card from three days at Sakhir
F1 NewsSaturday, 01 March 2025 at 12:50
The sole official Formula 1 pre-season test ahead of the Australian Grand Prix took place at the Bahrain International Circuit, marking the first on-track action of the 75th season of the sport.
Teams and drivers got the chance to run their 2025 F1 cars in anger for the first time. With the current F1 rules in their final year, we witnessed bullet-proof reliability during the course of the three days of Bahrain F1 Testing.
Below is what F1's exclusive tyre supplier - Pirelli - reported during and at the end of the three days at Sakhir.
After a flurry of team launches and car shakedowns at the Bahrain Grand Prix venue, earlier in the week, testing began on Wednesday morning and ran through to Friday evening local time.
All 20 drivers participated in Wednesday's sessions, offering a preview of the grid’s form ahead of the Melbourne season-opener. However, teams faced unusually cold conditions for Bahrain, with air temperatures lingering around 15°C. A strong northerly wind further reduced the apparent temperature and carried sand onto the circuit, making for a challenging opening day.
Lando Norris set the benchmark time of 1:30.430 on a fresh set of C3 tyres, nine-tenths quicker than Max Verstappen’s fastest lap on the opening day of the 2024 test. George Russell was second in the Mercedes with a 1:30.587, followed by Verstappen, who clocked 1:30.674 for Red Bull.
Former Ferrari teammates Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz followed in fourth and fifth, posting times of 1:30.878 and 1:30.995, respectively. The Spaniard was making his Williams debut after moving from Ferrari. Alpine’s Pierre Gasly rounded out the top six with a 1:31.353.
Tyre data and long runs
Teams predominantly used the C3 compound, which accounted for 76.7% of the day’s running (1,017 out of 1,326 total laps). The C2 was the next most used, making up 21.04% (279 laps), while the hard C1 compound saw minimal action, featuring only 30 laps (2.26%), exclusively run by Norris and Gasly. These three compounds will be the designated choices for the Bahrain Grand Prix from 11-13 April.
Jack Doohan logged the longest stint of the day with 24 consecutive laps on the C2s for Alpine. Yuki Tsunoda completed the longest run on the C3s with 23 laps in the Racing Bulls, while Norris completed the most laps on the C1s (17). Esteban Ocon, now driving for Haas, recorded the highest mileage of the day with 88 laps.
A power outage at the circuit led to a red flag stoppage, leaving the entire facility without electricity for nearly an hour. The FIA, F1, and teams agreed to extend the session by an hour, with the chequered flag falling at 20:00 local time.
Day 2, Thursday: Sainz fastest as rain briefly halts action
Carlos Sainz topped the timesheets at the end of the second day of official Formula 1 testing at the Bahrain International Circuit, repeating his feat from last year but this time in a Williams rather than a Ferrari.
The Spaniard set the best time of 1:29.348 on the C3 tyre during his 63rd lap out of 127, improving by 573 thousandths on his best lap from the same day in 2024. Sainz's testing programme is now complete, with teammate Alex Albon taking over for the final day.
Ferrari’s new line-up of Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc shared duties in the SF-25, finishing second and third, separated by just 52 thousandths. Hamilton clocked a 1:29.379, with Leclerc marginally slower at 1:29.431, both setting their best laps on the C3 compound.
The cool conditions continued for a second day, with temperatures fluctuating between 13 and 18°C—uncommon for Bahrain. The session was also disrupted by rain, forcing most of the 18 participating drivers to stay in the garages. Max Verstappen and Alex Albon did not take to the track, leaving Haas driver Esteban Ocon as the only exception.
Sainz covered the most mileage on Thursday
Ocon briefly ran on Intermediate tyres, marking the first use of this compound at Sakhir since Daniel Ricciardo tested it in April 2017 with Red Bull. Ocon’s wet-weather outing was limited to three practice starts.
The C3 compound remained the most used, though less dominantly than on Day 1, with 767 of the total 1,258 laps (60.97%) completed on this tyre. The softer C4 made its first appearance of the season, logging just 30 laps across Nico Hülkenberg (Sauber), Sainz, and Leclerc.
The C2 and C1 compounds saw increased usage compared to the first day, accounting for 238 (18.92%) and 210 (16.69%) laps, respectively. This more balanced distribution was largely due to race simulations and extended runs by multiple drivers.
Sainz covered the most mileage with 127 laps, while Racing Bulls’ Yuki Tsunoda completed the longest stint of the day, running 25 consecutive laps on the C1s.
Day 3, Friday: Sainz Fastest Overall as Russell Leads Final Day
The only official Formula 1 pre-season test session has concluded at the Bahrain International Circuit after three busy days of running. All 20 race drivers took to the track, logging valuable mileage with their new machines ahead of the 2025 season opener. Across 25 hours of track time, a total of 3,896 laps were completed, covering 21,090,564 kilometres.
George Russell set the fastest lap on the final day with a 1:29.545 on the C3 compound. Max Verstappen was a close second, just 21 thousandths slower on the same tyres. Alex Albon rounded out the top three, setting a 1:29.650 on a set of C4s.
Today’s top eight featured eight different teams, showcasing a competitive field. Behind the leading trio, Oscar Piastri placed fourth for McLaren with a 1:29.940, followed by Alpine’s Pierre Gasly (1:30.040), Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton (1:30.345), Racing Bulls’ Yuki Tsunoda (1:30.497), and Haas driver Esteban Ocon (1:30.728).
Despite Russell’s pace on the final day, the fastest time of the test belonged to Carlos Sainz, who topped the second day with a 1:29.348 in his Williams. This marked a repeat of his achievement from last year when he set the best lap in a Ferrari. The competitiveness of this year’s field was underlined by three different drivers from three different teams leading each day: Norris on Day 1, Sainz on Day 2, and Russell on Day 3.
Isola: We’ve had three rather unusual testing days here in Bahrain
Pirelli’s Director of Motorsport, Mario Isola, reflected on the challenges posed by the unseasonably cool weather: “We’ve had three rather unusual testing days here in Bahrain. For years now, Formula 1 has chosen this circuit for the only pre-season test because the weather is usually very favourable.
"That was not the case this week, especially the first two days. Low temperatures, considerably lower than at this time of year in previous years, and strong wind affected the teams’ work and made it even harder than usual to interpret the results, with no previous reference points on this track at such low temperatures.”
Isola detailed the tyre usage patterns across the test: “From our side, the most data came from the C3 and the C2 and, slightly less so from the C1: that was entirely to be expected, given that these are the compounds usually chosen for the Bahrain Grand Prix.
"Only a few laps were completed with the C4, while the C5 and C6 never appeared on track, to be expected as only Ferrari and Williams had opted to include these in their allocation. From what we could see, the C2 behaved as expected.
Isola: We did not see any real performance runs
"This confirmed that it was further from the C1 than last year and therefore closer to the C3. The hardest compound struggled a bit in these temperatures, while the C3 proved to be the most versatile of the range," revealed Isola.
He also made an interesting observation: “We did not see any real performance runs, which would have allowed us to fully evaluate the performance difference between the compounds. As for degradation of the three hardest compounds, it’s clear that because of the low temperatures, it was minimal, even if it increased slightly today when it was a bit warmer, but not in any significant fashion.
"Now we head home with plenty of data to study as we prepare for the opening round of the season, the Australian Grand Prix. In Melbourne, we will bring the same compounds in terms of nomenclature as last year, namely the C3 as Hard, the C4 as Medium and the C5 as Soft, so we will have a first meaningful look at the softer compounds," concluded the Pirelli chief.
With pre-season testing complete, Pirelli will remain at the Sakhir circuit for two additional days of running on Sunday and Monday 2-3 March. The programme will focus on the development of 2026 tyres, with Alpine and Williams taking part. Alpine will field its test drivers Paul Aron and Ryo Hirakawa, while Williams will provide further track time for race drivers Alexander Albon and Carlos Sainz.
2025 Bahrain F1 Testing Three-Day Summary
Latest News
Loading
