F1 team’s state of play the day before preseason testing – Formula One made history with its big launch event entitled F175. The event was to celebrate the 75 years of the history of the sport together with each team doing a big reveal of their 2025 challengers.
Yet the cars on display weren’t the cars which will take to the track in pre-season testing this week, the first glimpse of those has been at the various shakedown events run by the teams under the FIA’s ‘filming day’ rules.
McLaren, Ferrari and Mercedes have all completed their pre-Bahrain 100km mini tests and the cars on display have already drawn some interesting observations. Red Bull by way of contrast have merely revealed some online photographs of the RB21, although it looks very similar to last year’s challenger.
Ferrari favourites over McLaren
The media hype around Lewis Hamilton moving to Ferrari has translated into fervour over the Scuderia’s SF25. A number of analysts are reporting they believe the new F1 design from Maranello will have the edge over last season’s victorious constructors’ McLaren. Though of course its too early to know this until the cars hit the track in Bahrain tomorrow.
The Mercedes W16 looks visibly similar to its predecessor but as technical director James Allison reveals, the team have attempted to focus on two main weaknesses of the W15. “Being the fourth year of these regulations on the chassis side, the cars are in a more mature phase.
“Big gains in lap time are harder to come by, but we’ve been concentrating on making improvements in the areas that held us back last year. Our primary focus has been on dialling out the W15’s slight reluctance to turn in slow corners, along with the imbalance in tyre temperatures that made the car inconsistent from session to session.”
The fundamentals of the new Mercedes F1 car remain the same. The wheelbase is identical as is the cockpit layout, it is just the mechanical and aerodynamic components of the car which are different.
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The big four teams had uber dominant weekends
Each of the big four teams last year at least one uber dominant weekend, where everything came together and both drivers were unstoppable. Red Bull’s were early season with three 1-2’s on the first four race weekends – all before Checo’s rapid decline.
McLaren’s only 1-2 came in Hungary, where Lando Norris was told to hand back the lead of the race to his team mate Oscar Piastri. Yet the team were fastest at other F1 circuits but either one or both drivers made mistakes which were costly.
Ferrari were first and second twice in 2024. First time out was in Melbourne, when a grateful Carlos Sainz inherited the lead from a stricken Red Bull. The second was at the USGP which saw Norris and Verstappen battling at the start only to let the Ferrari pair through.
Mercedes were super dominant in Las Vegas and prior to that finished the race in Belgium with both cars ahead of the field. Yet a mistake by the trackside engineering team meant that George Russell who initially claimed the win was disqualified, giving Lewis Hamilton his second victory of the year.
No radical changes – except Ferrari
So no one expected the new cars to be radial designs butFerrari claim their car is 99% new. The current regulations are now in their fourth season and each year it gets harder for the team’s to find more time through their designs. This is great for the fans as the teams converge to similar lap times, making qualifying and the races even more unpredictable.
Mercedes have been in the doldrums since the big rule change in 2022, but their technical director is bullish, as James Allison explains the thin king behind their design. “Being the fourth year of these regulations on the chassis side, the cars are in a more mature phase.
”Big gains in lap time are harder to come by, but we’ve been concentrating on making improvements in the areas that held us back last year. Our primary focus has been on dialling out the W15’s slight reluctance to turn in slow corners, along with the imbalance in tyre temperatures that made the car inconsistent from session to session.”
Mercedes and Ferrari had diametrically opposed issues in 2024. The W15 was slow in the slow corners, but appeared to come alive in the high speed downforce turns.
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Mercedes & Ferrari have opposite problems
Ferrari by way of comparison were lacking in high speed downforce but performed well in the low speed traction zones. The most noticeable difference about the “all new Ferrari” F1 car is the bigger anti-dive system designed to stop the car’s nose digging towards the ground under braking.
This may well Lewis Hamilton who has been suffering from the significant and swift shifts of the centre of air pressure under the floor of the car, as the anti-dive in theory should provide him with a more stable platform.
Mercedes by way of contrast had made subtle changes which ex-F1 car designer Gary Anderson appeared disappointed with. “I expected more than this in terms of design changes,” he said, “but somewhere in there is untapped potential and someone will find it.”
It could be that with rookie driver Kimi Antonelli the team a re to over optimistic about their chances in the constructors’ race and they are throwing most of their resources at next year’s car when huge changes in the regulations are coming.
Vasseur says titles decided early
Ferrari team boss, Fred Vasseur, believes the championships this year will be decided relatively early in the season. “If we’re to develop the current car, it will be the first couple of races and then I think everyone will – I don’t want to say we’ll stop the current car, but we’ll be more focussed on ’26,” he said.
“The first races and the first upgrade we bring to the car will be crucial for the season. But teams will have to remain flexible, and being very fast or very slow early on could also influence how the remainder of the campaign plays out,” he concluded.
Red Bull have revealed little about their all new RB21 and it will be tomorrow morning when the RB21 can be properly analysed.
Hamilton whipped by Leclerc in testing
Lewis Hamilton has a smile on his face and is “invigorated” and “full of energy” as he faces the new challenge of racing for Ferrari in Formula One this year. The Scuderia have had the seven times world champion testing previous year cars to the fullest extent of the FIA regulations in an attempt to familiarise Lewis with his race crew.
Yet come the big day when the Ferrari 2025 car was rolled out for its first test – sorry, ‘filming day’ – it seems the seven tines world champion was not on his A game. The test was held behind closed doors yet a motor racing circuit is a difficult place to prevent prying eyes.
Spanish publication Marca and Italy’s Repubblica had their spies out in the field armed with stopwatches which revealed Charles Leclerc was eight tenths quicker than his new team mate in the same car, on the same day, in the same conditions…. READ MORE
With over 30 years of experience in Formula 1 as an insider journalist, I have built trusted connections across the paddock, from race engineers and mechanics to senior team figures. At The Judge 13, I and a handful of trusted colleagues share exclusive Formula 1 news, expert analysis and behind-the-scenes stories you will not find in mainstream motorsport media.
