Rejoice! With Bahrain testing all wrapped up, it’s nearly time to get stuck into a fresh Formula 1 season. But which drivers will be looking forward with anticipation? And who has been left with a lot of work to do ahead of the new campaign?
With regulations staying relatively stable between 2024 and 2025, you’d have thought that this year’s Bahrain F1 Testing would be pretty mundane. But, no! There were no fewer than FOUR red flags. At one point, even a shuttle bus joined the track. That was bizarre… even by F1 standards. There was also a fair amount of rain. Which was very strange for a circuit in the desert!
Things were no less spicy with the Bahrain on-track action. Sky Sports were predictably fixated on Lewis Hamilton’s testing debut at Ferrari, but there were plenty of other talking points. There seemed to be a genuine battle at the front (even if McLaren were clear on the long runs). F1’s rookies also made mixed, generally positive starts, teeing up a potentially brilliant season to come.
The less said about Nico Hulkenberg’s shunt with Oscar Piastri, the better, but again, fans clearly have a lot to look forward to this year. F1 testing obviously comes with the usual caveats about teams running different programs, so we need to take the times with a pinch of salt. But we’ve done our best to separate the wheat from the chaff. Here are our hot takes based on the running so far.
It’s looking very close out front
At face value, there were a lot of positives for the neutrals. Mercedes, Red Bull, Ferrari, and McLaren all swapped places at the top of the timesheets, with Carlos Sainz setting the fastest lap. Last year, the Spaniard achieved the same thing with a 1:29:921; only this time he went nearly six tenths quicker… in a Williams. Let’s see if he retains that pace in Australia.
Arguably, however, it was McLaren who set the bar in Bahrain. Lando Norris was the fastest man on track for large chunks of 2024, and his long runs were ominously fast during day two of testing. In fact, the Brit’s race sim run was a whopping 31 seconds clear of Charles Leclerc’s for Ferrari.
After the session, Norris said McLaren had "struggled a bit more with the rear than they would have liked.” Who knows, maybe the others were sandbagging? But the signs were all positive for the boys in papaya. Neutrals will also be looking at Hamilton and Leclerc’s times on day two as a source of encouragement — with just half a tenth separating them.
Likewise, reigning champ Max Verstappen was in close attendance throughout days one and three. Compared to last year’s difficult to tame RB20, the 27-year-old said there was “already a big difference,” pouring scorn on suggestions that he won’t be involved in the 2025 title fight. If we did have our first three or four-way scrap since 2010, what a prospect that’d be!
‘Mini-DRS’ debate looks set to reignite
With teams only debuting their liveries at F175 LIVE, Bahrain testing represented the first time we’d seen the 2025 specification cars… and there were some surprises. Aston Martin, who will soon entrust their design department to Adrian Newey, had incorporated an innovative-looking vertical vent.
Mercedes went a step further, sporting what looked like a ‘fake cooling duct’ positioned right under the racing number on this year’s cars. The team’s social media team made light of the official F1 account’s tweet on the matter, joking, “The car is fake.” We’ll see if this becomes an issue. Perhaps their competitors will protest if the Silver Arrows are on pole in Melbourne!
But the main talking point tech-wise was undoubtedly the return of the ‘mini-DRS.’ Last year, McLaren was forced to change their rear wing design, following accusations that it bent excessively at high-speed — breaking FIA rules in this area. Now, Red Bull technical director Pierre Wache has alleged that “Ferrari and McLaren are doing the mini-DRS stuff, still.”
In the early stages of the new season, he anticipates that this will be “quite visible” and become one of F1’s main talking points once again. Are Red Bull already worried about the pace of their competitors, or is this just a bit of gamesmanship? Either way, we hope there’s a bit more on-track action to talk about than slight rear-wing movements during the season ahead.
F1 rookies make a positive start
Before testing, everyone was looking forward to seeing how F1’s six new drivers would perform. There were a few shaky moments (Liam Lawson’s opening day spin comes to mind), but there were no letdowns or high-speed crashes (we’re looking at you, Kimi Antonelli).
Of course, not all this season’s newcomers are complete rookies. Lawson, alongside Jack Doohan and Ollie Bearman, had already made his F1 debut with a stand-in appearance. In comparison to their teammates, they fared pretty well though. Antonelli’s times were actually very close to the far more experienced George Russell.
Lawson was over a second off Verstappen — but you could argue this isn't far off Checo Perez’s performances of the last season or two. Gabriel Bortoleto also joined Bearman near the bottom of the timing screen on all three days, reflecting the tough job they have on their hands for 2025.
Despite his engine cover blowing off on the final day, Bearman suggested that he was “feeling confident” heading into the new season, with the car “performing really well” on the second day of running. However, he’ll need more than just good vibes if he’s going to avoid the fate of other Haas hopefuls Mick Schumacher and Nikita Mazepin (the latter of whom is now an aspiring boxer).
Who made the biggest gains in Bahrain?
Finally, let’s take a look at the biggest winners and losers of preseason testing. After putting on a disaster class of a performance in 2024, Alpine was the biggest mover, lapping more than two seconds faster (when comparing best times). Williams were also 1.6 seconds up.
Enticingly, Red Bull and McLaren were neck and neck, both improving by around 1.1 seconds. Racing Bulls and Sauber, on the other hand, were just a few tenths up year-on-year.
It’s possible that these teams were running on high fuel or sandbagging. But their performances last year don’t make this seem likely. At least they have colorful new paint jobs. Sauber has even introduced LED wheel covers, so they might not spend all of this season in the pits!
But overall, it seems that the front four have come even closer together. The midfield appears to have made big gains too, with the likes of Haas and Aston Martin also making up nearly a second on last year’s fastest runs. With it being the final season of the current regulations, this kind of convergence has been forecast for some time. It could make for exciting viewing! (Quotes from The Race & Formula 1)
Who are the pre-season F1 World Champs?
Let us know in the comments below.
red bullmercedesMcLarenLewis Hamiltoncarlos sainzMax VerstappenhaasWilliamsFerrariCharles Leclercmick schumachergeorge russellAston MartinLando Norrisbahrain testingNikita Mazepincheco perezF1 OpinionSauberNico HulkenbergAlpineOscar PiastriJack DoohanLiam LawsonKimi AntonelliGabriel BortoletoOllie BearmanRacing Bulls
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