2025 F1 Pre-Season Testing – Bahrain: Full Report & Highlights

For all F1 fans, the long winter wait was finally over: starting on 26 February, Bahrain’s Sakhir Circuit hosted the only official test session ahead of the 2025 Formula 1 season. This was the first opportunity to see all ten new cars on track together before the season officially kicked off in Melbourne on March 14, when free practice would begin for the 2025 Australian Grand Prix—the first of yet another long 24-race season.

Over three days, teams would get 24 hours of running time, with sessions operating from 10:00 to 14:00 and 15:00 to 19:00 local time. While testing times should always be taken with a pinch of salt, the sessions would offer the first glimpse of what to expect in the upcoming 2025 season.

The Bahrain International Circuit, which made its Formula 1 debut in 2004, has hosted pre-season testing six times since 2009. The track’s mix of high- and low-speed corners combined with two long straights provides an ideal testing ground, helping teams fine-tune their setups for a variety of conditions they’ll encounter throughout the season.

One of Bahrain’s key advantages as a testing venue is its consistent weather, offering a stable baseline for teams to gather reliable data. Unlike some unpredictable locations, the desert climate typically ensures mild and dry conditions, making it a solid representation of race environments teams will face during the season.

As expected, the 2025 forecast aligned with expectations: cloudy skies, temperatures around 17°C, and little to no chance of rain. This would provide teams with uninterrupted track time to maximise their preparations ahead of the season opener in Melbourne.

Testing schedule

Date	Session	Local Time
26 February 2025	Day 1	10:00 am – 7:00 pm local time
27 February 2025	Day 2	10:00 am – 7:00 pm local time
28 February 2025	Day 3	10:00 am – 7:00 pm local time

Testing background

After a glitzy season opener for F1’s 75th anniversary at the O2 Arena in London on February 18, it was now time for track action in the desert. Ahead of Formula 1 pre-season testing in Bahrain, which marks three crucial days for teams and drivers to familiarise themselves with their new cars, in 2025, the FIA still mandated that each team was allowed to run only one car, meaning that both drivers must share driving duties at the Bahrain International Circuit.

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So long as everything runs smoothly, each driver gets approximately one and a half days behind the wheel. As it has been in past seasons, while some teams prefer to alternate drivers within a single day, others opt for full-day stints before swapping on the final day.

Confirmed Driver Line-ups

In the lead-up to testing, most teams had announced their schedules:

• Mercedes was among the first to confirm their plans, with 18-year-old rookie Andrea Kimi Antonelli taking the wheel on Wednesday morning.
• Ferrari had released only its Wednesday lineup, with Lewis Hamilton driving in the morning before handing the car over to Charles Leclerc in the afternoon. But it would materialise that the trend continued into Thursday, with a swap come Friday where Hamilton ended the day.
• McLaren split driving duties between Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri each day.
• Red Bull scheduled Max Verstappen for Wednesday afternoon and a full-day session on Friday.

With the season opener just weeks away, all eyes were on Bahrain as teams gathered crucial data and drivers got their first real feel for the 2025 challengers.

Wednesday driver line-ups

Day 1 was held on 26 February 2025, between 10:00 am to 2:00 pm and 3:00 pm to 7:00 pm local time

Team	Wednesday AM	Wednesday PM
McLaren	Oscar Piastri	Lando Norris
Ferrari	Lewis Hamilton	Charles Leclerc
Red Bull	Liam Lawson	Max Verstappen
Mercedes	Kimi Antonelli	George Russell
Aston Martin	Fernando Alonso	Lance Stroll
Alpine	Jack Doohan	Pierre Gasly
Haas	Oliver Bearman	Esteban Ocon
Racing Bulls	Yuki Tsunoda	Isack Hadjar
Williams	Alex Albon	Carlos Sainz
Sauber	Nico Hulkenberg	Gabriel Bortoleto

Thursday driver line-ups

Day 2 was held on 27 February 2025, between 10:00 am to 2:00 pm and 3:00 pm to 7:00 pm local time

Team	Thursday AM	Thursday PM
McLaren	Oscar Piastri	Lando Norris
Ferrari	Lewis Hamilton	Charles Leclerc
Red Bull	Liam Lawson	Liam Lawson
Mercedes	George Russell	Kimi Antonelli
Aston Martin	Fernando Alonso	Lance Stroll
Alpine	Pierre Gasly	Jack Doohan
Haas	Esteban Ocon	Oliver Bearman
Racing Bulls	Yuki Tsunoda	Isack Hadjar
Williams	Carlos Sainz	Carlos Sainz
Sauber	Nico Hulkenberg	Gabriel Bortoleto

Friday driver line-ups

Day 3 was held on 26 February 2025, between 10:00 am to 2:00 pm and 3:00 pm to 7:00 pm local time

Team	Friday AM	Friday PM
McLaren	Lando Norris	Oscar Piastri
Ferrari	Charles Leclerc	Lewis Hamilton
Red Bull	Max Verstappen	Max Verstappen
Mercedes	Kimi Antonelli	George Russell
Aston Martin	Lance Stroll	Fernado Alonso
Alpine	Jack Doohan	Pierre Gasly
Haas	Oliver Bearman	Esteban Ocon
Racing Bulls	Isack Hadjar	Yuki Tsunoda
Williams	Alex Albon	Alex Albon
Sauber	Gabriel Bortoleto	Nico Hulkenberg

Tyre choices

The 2025 F1 Pre-Season Testing in Bahrain also provided the first opportunity to see Pirelli’s full range of dry-weather tyres in action for the 2025 season. The tyre construction was slightly revised since the end of the 2024 season to handle the increased aerodynamic loads generated by the latest evolution of this generation of cars.

Six dry-weather compounds would be available, identifiable by their distinct markings:

• C1 – White lettering (no bands)
• C2 – White lettering with bands
• C3 – Yellow lettering (no bands)
• C4 – Yellow lettering with bands
• C5 – Red lettering (no bands)
• C6 – Red lettering with bands

Intermediate and extreme wet tyres retain their traditional green and blue markings.

A key change for 2025 was the debut of the C6 compound, the softest tyre in the range. It was designed for street circuits and low-energy tracks where tyre wear is less aggressive. Meanwhile, the C1 remained the hardest compound, largely unchanged from 2024. The C2 was adjusted to bring it closer in performance to the C3, which remained the most balanced tyre in terms of wear and versatility. Both the C4 and C5 had been refined to improve durability and reduce the risk of graining, particularly in race conditions.

Team Tyre Selections

Each team was allowed to select up to 35 sets of tyres, with a maximum of 30 sets permitted for use across the three-day test. The choices made by teams offered some intriguing insights:

• C3 was the most popular compound, as it was expected to be widely used throughout the season. However, with six compounds available in 2025, it may not feature at every Grand Prix.
• Mercedes had the highest allocation of C3 tyres (27 sets), while Williams had the fewest (15 sets).
• Williams and Ferrari were the only teams running all six compounds, meaning they had just one set each of the softest C5 and C6 tyres.
• Aston Martin and Alpine opted for a conservative approach, selecting only the three hardest compounds.
• Wet-weather preparation varies by team:
  • Aston Martin included three sets of intermediates in its allocation.
  • Haas chose one set each of intermediates and extreme wets.
  • However, current forecasts indicated no chance of rain over the three-day test.

All eyes were on Sakhir as the 2025 Formula 1 season officially got underway!

FIND OUT MORE

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  F1 Tyres: An Ultimate Guide to How They Work

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  The History of Pirelli Tyres in Formula 1

Day 1: 2025 Pre-Season Testing Bahrain

Formula 1’s ‘Big Four’ led the opening day of Bahrain Testing as Lewis Hamilton completed his full Ferrari debut ahead of the 2025 F1 season.

Lando Norris set the fastest time for McLaren on an eventful first day of pre-season testing in Bahrain, which was disrupted by a lengthy delay due to a power outage at the circuit.

Norris considered a pre-season title contender, posted a best lap of 1:30.430 in the session following the restart, finishing ahead of Mercedes’ George Russell, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc at the top of the timesheets. Meanwhile, Lewis Hamilton completed 70 laps in his first full test with Ferrari, marking the beginning of his highly anticipated new chapter with the Scuderia.

Full Day One Report

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  2025 F1 Pre-Season Testing: Day 1 Results

Day 1: 2025 Pre-Season Testing Bahrain Classification

Day 1 was held on 26 February 2025, between 10:00 am to 2:00 pm and 3:00 pm to 7:00 pm local time.

Pos	Driver	Nat.	Team	Time	Laps
1	Lando Norris	GBR	McLaren F1 Team	1m30.430s	52
2	George Russell	GBR	Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team	1m30.587s	70
3	Max Verstappen	NED	Oracle Red Bull Racing	1n30.674s	74
4	Charles Leclerc	MON	Scuderia Ferrari HP	1m30.878s	71
5	Carlos Sainz	ESP	Atlassian Williams Racing	1m30.955s	68
6	Pierre Gasly	FRA	BWT Alpine F1 Team	1m31.353s	72
7	Andrea Kimi Antonelli	ITA	Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team	1m31.428s	78
8	Liam Lawson	NZL	Oracle Red Bull Racing	1m31.560s	58
9	Alex Albon	THA	Atlassian Williams Racing	1m31.573s	63
10	Yuki Tsunoda	JPN	Visa Cash App Racing Bulls F1 Team	1m31.610s	78
11	Isack Hadjar	FRA	Visa Cash App Racing Bulls F1 Team	1m31.631s	76
12	Gabriel Bortoleto	BRA	Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber	1m31.690s	59
13	Lewis Hamilton	GBR	Scuderia Ferrari HP	1m31.834s	70
14	Jack Doohan	AUS	BWT Alpine F1 Team	1m31.841s	68
15	Fernando Alonso	ESP	Aston Martin Aramco F1 Team	1m31.874s	46
16	Lance Stroll	CAN	Aston Martin Aramco F1 Team	1m31.949s	41
17	Oscar Piastri	AUS	McLaren F1 Team	1m32.084s	66
18	Nico Hulkenberg	GER	Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber	1m32.169s	55
19	Esteban Ocon	FRA	MoneyGram Haas F1 Team	1m33.600s	88
20	Oliver Bearman	GBR	MoneyGram Haas F1 Team	1m35.522s	72

Day 2: 2025 Pre-Season Testing Bahrain

Carlos Sainz led the second day of F1 pre-season testing in Bahrain, narrowly edging out Lewis Hamilton by just 0.031s as Williams continued to turn heads with their strong pace. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc secured third in the timesheets, ensuring both Ferraris finished in the top three, coming in less than a tenth behind Sainz. Meanwhile, Lando Norris almost passed under the radar while demonstrating McLaren’s true performance, adding further intrigue to the competitive order.

Hamilton’s best lap came in the morning session, when track conditions were slower, indicating the seven-time world champion is quickly settling into his new Ferrari and looking increasingly comfortable in the SF-25.

Despite intermittent rain creating tricky conditions at the Bahrain International Circuit, Lando Norris delivered an eye-catching performance once the track dried in the final two hours of testing. While he only finished 14th on the timesheets, his race simulation in the afternoon drew significant attention.

Both Charles Leclerc and Mercedes rookie Kimi Antonelli also completed full race simulations, but their long-run pace lagged behind Norris—losing around one second per lap in the final stint. This suggested McLaren’s tyre management and long-run performance could be a major strength heading into the new 2025 F1 season.

Full Day One Report

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  2025 F1 Pre-Season Testing: Day 2 Results

Day 2: 2025 Pre-Season Testing Bahrain Classification

Day 2 was held on 27 February 2025, between 10:00 am to 2:00 pm and 3:00 pm to 7:00 pm local time.

Pos	Driver	Nat.	Team	Time	Laps
1	Carlos Sainz	ESP	Atlassian Williams Racing	1m29.348s	127
2	Lewis Hamilton	GBR	Scuderia Ferrari HP	1m29.379s	45
3	Charles Leclerc	MON	Scuderia Ferrari HP	1m29.431s	83
4	George Russell	GBR	Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team	1m29.778s	71
5	Andrea Kimi Antonelli	ITA	Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team	1m29.784s	87
6	Lance Stroll	CAN	Aston Martin Aramco F1 Team	1m30.229s	57
7	Liam Lawson	NZL	Oracle Red Bull Racing	1m30.252s	91
8	Jack Doohan	AUS	BWT Alpine F1 Team	1m30.368s	80
9	Pierre Gasly	FRA	BWT Alpine F1 Team	1m30.430s	40
10	Isack Hadjar	FRA	Visa Cash App Racing Bulls F1 Team	1m30.675s	94
11	Fernando Alonso	ESP	Aston Martin Aramco F1 Team	1m30.700s	45
12	Yuki Tsunoda	JPN	Visa Cash App Racing Bulls F1 Team	1m30.793s	46
13	Oscar Piastri	AUS	McLaren F1 Team	1m30.821s	44
14	Lando Norris	GBR	McLaren F1 Team	1m30.882s	77
15	Gabriel Bortoleto	BRA	Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber	1m31.057s	80
16	Nico Hulkenberg	GER	Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber	1m31.457s	56
17	Esteban Ocon	FRA	MoneyGram Haas F1 Team	1m33.071s	69
18	Oliver Bearman	GBR	MoneyGram Haas F1 Team	1m34.372s	66

Day 3: 2025 Pre-Season Testing Bahrain

A late surge in lap times in the fading light saw George Russell and Max Verstappen finish first and second on the final Bahrain pre-season testing timesheet, as teams wrapped up their preparations for the 2025 Formula 1 season.

Meanwhile, Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari session ended slightly early, with the seven-time world champion completing only 47 laps before the team opted to wrap up their program ahead of the final minutes of running.

The session was characterised by two bizarre red flags—one caused by a shattered glass pane falling onto the main straight from a gantry and another when a circuit bus unexpectedly appeared in a run-off area. Despite the disruptions, Russell set a time of 1:29.545 in the closing stages under floodlights, the third-fastest time of the entire test.

Verstappen, just 0.021s behind on the same C3 tyres, completed Red Bull’s quickest lap of the test, though the RB21’s performance appeared tricky at times, with the team focusing on short- to mid-length runs and testing a new nosecone. The Dutchman also suffered a late spin at Turn One, adding to an eventful day for the reigning world champions.

Full Day One Report

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  2025 F1 Pre-Season Testing: Day 3 Results

Day 3: 2025 Pre-Season Testing Bahrain Classification

Day 3 was held on 28 February 2025, between 10:00 am to 2:00 pm and 3:00 pm to 7:00 pm local time.

Pos	Driver	Nat.	Team	Time	Laps
1	George Russell	GBR	Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team	1m29.545s	91
2	Max Verstappen	NED	Oracle Red Bull Racing	1m29.566s	81
3	Alex Albon	THA	Atlassian Williams Racing	1m29.650s	137
4	Oscar Piastri	AUS	McLaren F1 Team	1m29.940s	85
5	Pierre Gasly	FRA	BWT Alpine F1 Team	1m30.040s	84
6	Lewis Hamilton	GBR	Scuderia Ferrari HP	1m30.345s	47
7	Yuki Tsunoda	JPN	Visa Cash App Racing Bulls F1 Team	1m30.497s	87
8	Esteban Ocon	FRA	MoneyGram Haas F1 Team	1m30.728s	103
9	Charles Leclerc	MON	Scuderia Ferrari HP	1m30.811s	66
10	Andrea Kimi Antonelli	ITA	Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team	1m30.888s	61
11	Lando Norris	GBR	McLaren F1 Team	1m30.943s	57
12	Jack Doohan	AUS	BWT Alpine F1 Team	1m31.239s	61
13	Lance Stroll	CAN	Aston Martin Aramco F1 Team	1m31.699s	34
14	Nico Hulkenberg	GER	Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber	1m31.726s	69
15	Isack Hadjar	FRA	Visa Cash App Racing Bulls F1 Team	1m31.761s	73
16	Fernando Alonso	ESP	Aston Martin Aramco F1 Team	1m32.084s	82
17	Gabriel Bortoleto	BRA	Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber	1m32.147s	35
18	Oliver Bearman	GBR	MoneyGram Haas F1 Team	1m32.361s	59

F1 Pre-Season Testing Wraps Up in Bahrain

With the chequered flag falling at 7 pm local time, that concluded F1’s 2025 pre-season testing following three intense days of track action in Bahrain. Team reliability was almost bulletproof, allowing teams to gather crucial data. While lap times should always be taken with a pinch of salt, looking through the data, there are intriguing glimpses of the competitive order heading into the new season.

The next time F1 cars hit the track will be for Free Practice 1 (FP1) in Melbourne as the 2025 season kicks off with the 2025 Australian Grand Prix on March 16.

The most laps completed per team

Team	Number of laps
Mercedes	306
Haas	295
Racing Bulls	294
Ferrari	269
Alpine	260
Williams	258
Sauber	250
McLaren	239
Red Bull	223
Aston Martin	190

The fastest laps of Bahrain pre-season testing per team

Team	Driver	Test Day	Time	Tyre
Williams	Carlos Sainz	Day Two	1:29.348	C3
Ferrari	Lewis Hamilton	Day Two	1:29.379	C3
Mercedes	George Russell	Day Two	1:29.778	C3
Aston Martin	Lance Stroll	Day Two	1:30.229	C3
Red Bull	Liam Lawson	Day Two	1:30.252	C3
Alpine	Jack Doohan	Day Two	1:30.368	C3
McLaren	Lando Norris	Day One	1:30.430	C3
Racing Bulls	Isack Hadjar	Day Two	1:30.675	C4
Sauber	Gabriel Bortoleto	Day Two	1:31.057	C3
Haas	Esteban Ocon	Day Two	1:33.071	C3

The fastest laps of Bahrain pre-season testing per driver

Driver	Team	Test Day	Lap Time	Tyre
Carlos Sainz	Williams	Day Two	1:29.348	C3
Lewis Hamilton	Ferrari	Day Two	1:29.379	C3
Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	Day Two	1:29.431	C3
George Russell	Mercedes	Day Two	1:29.778	C3
Andrea Kimi Antonelli	Mercedes	Day Two	1:29.784	C3
Lance Stroll	Aston Martin	Day Two	1:30.229	C3
Liam Lawson	Red Bull	Day Two	1:30.252	C3
Jack Doohan	Alpine	Day Two	1:30.368	C3
Pierre Gasly	Alpine	Day Two	1:30.430	C3
Max Verstappen	Red Bull	Day One	1:30.674	C3
Isack Hadjar	Racing Bulls	Day Two	1:30.675	C4
Fernando Alonso	Aston Martin	Day Two	1:30.700	C3
Yuki Tsunoda	Racing Bulls	Day Two	1:30.793	C3
Oscar Piastri	McLaren	Day Two	1:30.821	C3
Lando Norris	McLaren	Day One	1:30.430	C3
Gabriel Bortoleto	Sauber	Day Two	1:31.057	C3
Nico Hulkenberg	Sauber	Day Two	1:31.457	C3
Alex Albon	Williams	Day One	1:31.573	C3
Esteban Ocon	Haas	Day Two	1:33.071	C3
Oliver Bearman	Haas	Day Two	1:34.372	C3

F1 Testing 2025: What is the season’s prediction

Based on pre-season testing in Bahrain, the general consensus among teams and paddock insiders was that McLaren entered the 2025 season as the team to beat. While Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri reported that the handling isn’t yet perfect, the raw pace of the MCL38 was evident, particularly in long-run simulations, where it showed superior tyre management.

Having seemingly addressed last season’s handling and balance issues, Red Bull appeared to be on the back foot but still competitive, closely matched with Mercedes. While Max Verstappen’s RB21 showed flashes of speed, Red Bull’s setup experimentation and Verstappen’s late spin suggested work was still needed. Meanwhile, Mercedes had a consistent test, with George Russell topping the final day’s timesheet. Their new car appeared to be an evolution rather than a radical departure, and while not the fastest, it looked well-balanced and reliable.

Despite their strong finish to 2024, Ferrari seemed to be the biggest unknown after switching from push-rod to pull-rod suspension—a move that left the Scuderia struggling to unlock performance fully. Lewis Hamilton’s first Ferrari test was solid but not spectacular, and while the SF-25 had potential, it may take time before it reached the consistency of its rivals ahead. Behind the top four, Alpine appeared to be best of the rest, with Williams also making strides. While Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon tried to downplay expectations, Williams’ balance and driveability suggested they could be genuine midfield contenders.

Haas and Racing Bulls seemed locked in a close fight with Williams, while Aston Martin and Sauber rounded out the order. Fernando Alonso hinted at improvements in driveability, but the AMR25 still looked unstable, particularly at the rear, leaving Aston Martin with a lot of ground to cover. Sauber appeared to be in the weakest position, struggling with downforce limitations and consistency, making them the early backmarkers heading into the season opener in Melbourne.