What we learned from F1's 2025 Bahrain pre-season testing

Formula 1's pre-season testing has concluded in Bahrain, offering valuable insights into the competitive landscape for 2025.

Three days of intensive running have revealed significant performance trends and technical challenges across the grid as teams prepare for the season opener in Melbourne.

McLaren: Setting the standard

McLaren has unquestionably made the strongest impression throughout testing, with both Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri demonstrating formidable pace across both short and long runs.

The MCL39's performance has raised eyebrows throughout the paddock, with several teams concerned about the gap the Woking squad appears to have established.

Piastri's race simulation on the final day, though not matching the blistering pace Norris had shown a day earlier, still demonstrated superior long-run performance.

The Australian was averaging around 0.5 seconds faster than George Russell's Mercedes in their first stint, maintaining an advantage even when using the slower C1 tire versus Russell's C2 in subsequent runs.

"We know our car enjoys cool temperatures and not much change from the wind," team principal Andrea Stella cautioned.

"Today we don't have that, but yesterday we did." He added that they "need to be careful about drawing hasty conclusions" since "in the first races tire management will be different compared to this track."

Despite Stella's attempts to temper expectations, the MCL39's performance advantage appears genuine.

The car has attracted attention not only for its pace but also for the movement of its rear wing, which has become a topic of discussion among rival teams.

Red Bull: Unexpected challenges

For the reigning constructors' champions, testing proved far more problematic than anticipated.

The team was already playing catch-up after a water leak limited Liam Lawson's running on Thursday, and their troubles continued throughout the three-day program.

Max Verstappen's final day was particularly telling, with the three-time world champion completing numerous short runs with varying configurations rather than focusing on race simulations.

Trackside observers reported seeing flow-vis paint applied to different sections of the RB21's sidepods late into the third day – with three separate runs showing flo-vis on different parts of the sidepods, suggesting the team was still conducting fundamental aerodynamic evaluations.

"It was not as smooth a test as we expected," technical director Pierre Wache admitted.

Early whispers from the garage suggested the RB21 was exhibiting a trait of "understeer leading to exit oversteer" – similar to characteristics that hampered the team late last season.

Only in the closing hours of testing did Verstappen appear to find a promising setup combination, delivering the second-fastest time of the final day.

However, this came at the expense of gathering crucial long-run data, leaving significant questions about Red Bull's race pace.

Wache even hinted that "the steps being made were not as big as Red Bull expected," an unusual admission from a team that has dominated recent seasons.

Mercedes: Consistency returns

Mercedes appears to have made significant strides with the W16, addressing many of the unpredictable handling characteristics that plagued its recent cars.

Russell topped the final day's timesheet with a late qualifying simulation and described the test as "seamless."

"The team has worked hard over the winter to improve on the weaknesses of the W15 and, from the initial signs, we seem to have made good steps in those areas with our 2025 challenger," said trackside engineering director Andrew Shovlin.

Russell completed a full race simulation on the final day that revealed mixed performance across different tire compounds.

The W16 appeared strongest on the C2 compound but struggled somewhat with the C1 and C3 tires.

Observers noted the car's tendency to lock its front brakes, but this appears to be a manageable trait rather than a fundamental flaw.

Mercedes' performance appears closely matched with Ferrari, with the two teams employing different approaches to achieve similar lap times.

The Mercedes displays better speed into corners, while the Ferrari shows stronger straight-line performance and corner exits.

Ferrari: Mixed signals

Ferrari's testing provided a mix of encouraging signs and concerning technical issues.

The SF-25 showed strong straight-line speed and excellent corner exit traction, suggesting the power unit is delivering competitive performance while maintaining good mechanical grip.

However, balance issues emerged as a recurring theme throughout the test.

Charles Leclerc openly discussed these balance challenges after his morning session on the final day.

"It's a bit difficult to confirm the feelings because I don't think I've ever driven on this track in these conditions – cold, rain, wind, and very low temperatures," Leclerc explained.

"It's difficult to make a comparison with previous seasons. We see the numbers we expected, but both yesterday afternoon and today we had more difficulties managing the balance, so there's still a bit to do."

The test concluded prematurely for Ferrari when Lewis Hamilton was forced to end his running early due to what the team described as "a precaution, having spotted an anomaly on the telemetry."

Reports from the paddock later revealed this was likely related to a problem with the hydraulic system of the transmission, forcing Ferrari to end their test an hour early before Hamilton could complete his planned race simulation.

This denied the team valuable long-run data that would have provided direct comparison to Leclerc's full race simulation from the previous day.

The team had confirmed they intended to follow an identical program with Hamilton, making the technical issue particularly unfortunate timing.

Despite these setbacks, Hamilton appeared noticeably more comfortable in the Ferrari than he had been in recent Mercedes cars, matching the pace demonstrated by Leclerc when comparing their respective sessions.

"Overall, these have been fantastic days and we've made great progress as a team," Hamilton said.

"Today we had to stop a bit earlier than planned and the weather has been difficult to manage all week, but sometimes tests go this way.

We've still managed to gather a lot of information to work with before the season starts.

The entire team has done an incredible job, and I'm very excited to get to the first race in Melbourne."

Ferrari's performance across the three days placed them in what appears to be a tight battle with Mercedes, with the two teams delivering similar lap times through distinctly different approaches.

Ferrari excelling on straights and corner exits, while Mercedes showed better corner entry performance.

The team will now focus on addressing the balance issues identified by Leclerc before Melbourne, with particular emphasis on finding a more consistent setup window across varying track conditions.

Williams leads midfield improvement

Perhaps the most surprising storyline from testing was Williams' impressive performance. Carlos Sainz set the fastest overall time on day two.

Alex Albon followed up with the third-quickest lap on the final day.

These headline times should be taken with a grain of salt. Albon's final day effort came on the softer C4 compound when most competitors used the C3.

The car may have also been running lighter on fuel or with a higher engine mode.

Despite these caveats, the FW47 made a consistent positive impression throughout all three days. This suggests genuine progress rather than just headline-grabbing runs.

The Williams "fundamentally is working well," according to trackside reports. Its peak times may have come under optimal conditions, but the improvement appears substantial.

The team is not expected to have bridged the gap to the top four teams. However, it appears well-positioned to fight with Alpine for Q3 appearances and regular points.

Alpine was also positive about its performance during the test. The car looked decent on track. Drivers provided encouraging feedback about the handling and performance.

The team also debuted a revised trackside leadership structure. Dave Greenwood joined as racing director.

Richard Lockwood took on the role of strategy and sporting director.

Aston Martin faces uphill battle

With Adrian Newey set to join the team next week, Aston Martin's testing performance will likely cause immediate concern.

Fernando Alonso indicated the AMR25 is essentially where it was at the end of last season, when it had fallen to having only the eighth or ninth fastest car on the grid.

The team had prioritized making the car more benign and giving drivers more confidence, and while that goal appears to have been partially achieved, it has come at the expense of overall pace.

Team principal Andy Cowell acknowledged the issues: "We have discovered areas that could be better and need more focus."

For a team that has finished fifth in the championship last year but saw its performance trajectory decline dramatically as the season progressed, the test results suggest they could face a challenging start to 2025.

Haas, Racing Bulls, and Sauber

Haas concentrated primarily on long-run performance rather than headline times. The team faced peculiar bodywork problems during testing.

Parts detached on two separate occasions. The first incident occurred during their Silverstone shakedown with Esteban Ocon.

It happened again in Bahrain with Oliver Bearman.

Team principal Ayao Komatsu didn't reveal the exact cause of these issues. He noted that a modification from last year had been "too aggressive."

This problem would need to be addressed before Melbourne.

Racing Bulls made late progress with Yuki Tsunoda on the final day. However, the car appeared "ill-balanced" for most of the test according to trackside observers.

Sauber consistently appeared to have the least impressive package of all teams. The car looked "uncomfortably stiff" on track.

The team's failure to make the car more compliant suggests a narrow setup window.

Nico Hulkenberg used his experience to find some consistency with the Sauber. Despite his efforts, the car always appeared somewhat unstable.

When questioned directly about the car being too stiff, he eventually conceded. "Maybe I told them [the engineers] it's stiff too," he admitted.

Mini-DRS controversy looms

As teams depart Bahrain, a potential technical controversy is brewing regarding rear wing flexibility.

Onboard footage has highlighted interesting behaviors of several cars' rear wings, with some appearing to bend backward on straights before returning to position under braking.

Red Bull's Wache pointed directly to what he sees as sophisticated approaches by rivals, suggesting that "Ferrari and McLaren are doing the mini-DRS stuff still."

This refers to the technique of flexing the rear wing main plane to help open up the slot gap, which reduces drag and provides a boost to straight-line speed.

McLaren pioneered this approach last year, with the concept helping Piastri win in Azerbaijan before the team agreed to modify the design following discussions with the FIA.

For 2025, the governing body implemented tougher rules to eliminate these practices, but the early accusations suggest this technical battleground could develop into a significant off-track storyline.

Conclusion: McLaren leads but uncertainties remain

As teams return to their factories to analyze the wealth of data collected in Bahrain, McLaren heads to Australia as the early favorite, with Mercedes and Ferrari appearing closely matched behind.

Red Bull, despite their struggles, remains a formidable competitor given their recent dominance and Verstappen's proven ability to extract maximum performance.

The midfield battle appears more clearly defined than in recent years, with Williams and Alpine establishing a gap to Aston Martin, Haas, and Racing Bulls.

Sauber, meanwhile, faces significant challenges with what appears to be the least competitive package on the grid.

Weather conditions in Bahrain – unusually cool for much of the test – may have flattered some cars while handicapping others.

The true competitive order will only become clear when teams face the different demands of Albert Park in Melbourne, but the pre-season indications suggest we may be in for the most competitive Formula 1 season in years.