What we learned from day one of the 2025 F1 preseason test: A look at the early action in Bahrain – The opening day of Formula One’s 2025 pre-season testing under the floodlights of the Bahrain International Circuit provided the first glimpse of what the season ahead might hold. While direct lap times are rarely an indicator of a car’s true potential during testing, the session did provide some interesting takeaways.
Lando Norris topped the timesheet with a 1:30.430, putting McLaren in front of George Russell, who was 0.157 seconds behind. Max Verstappen was third fastest, two tenths down in his Red Bull. Meanwhile, Lewis Hamilton’s return to Ferrari saw him end the day in 13th place, although his run was limited to the morning session before Charles Leclerc took over in the afternoon. The Monegasque driver ultimately posted the fourth-fastest time, four tenths behind Norris.
Mileage proved crucial for the teams, with Haas impressing by completing the most laps – 160 in total between Esteban Ocon and Oliver Bearman. Among the top teams, Mercedes were the most productive, with Russell and Andrea Kimi Antonelli completing 148 laps.
With plenty to talk about on day one, here’s a closer look at the biggest stories from Bahrain.
Mercedes’ W16 shows ‘extreme’ level of Red Bull influence
Formula 1 teams have a long history of borrowing design concepts from their most successful rivals, but Mercedes appear to have taken Red Bull inspiration to a whole new level with their 2025 challenger, the W16.
Sky Sports F1’s Ted Kravitz highlighted several areas where the Mercedes car borrows elements from last year’s Red Bull RB20, notably the front brake drum and sidepod design. The team has introduced a vertical air intake under the wing mirror – an innovation pioneered by Red Bull in 2024.
“It’s extreme and a different design idea to what Mercedes had last year,” explains Kravitz. “They’ve taken Red Bull’s concepts and pushed them to the limit.”
Despite these changes, Mercedes have stuck with pushrod suspension – a notable departure from Red Bull and Ferrari, who both continue to rely on pull-rod systems. It remains to be seen whether these Red Bull-inspired changes will translate into a real performance boost for the Silver Arrows.
Max Verstappen hits the ground running in the RB21
While the off-season brought rumours of Verstappen’s dissatisfaction with Red Bull’s refusal to tweak the car’s balance to his liking, the Dutchman showed no signs of discomfort on his first day of 2025 testing.
Despite only taking to the track in the afternoon session, Verstappen was immediately within two-tenths of Antonelli’s fastest time on the harder compound. His final fastest lap – 1:30.674 – left him 0.240 seconds behind Norris, but there was little concern in the Red Bull garage.
Speaking after his session, Verstappen expressed confidence in the early performance of the car.
“From the driving I did today, everything felt good. There were only good surprises, which is always a positive start,” he said. “We don’t know exactly where we are in terms of pace, but everything is working well and the car is doing what I want it to do. That’s all you can ask for in testing.
The only hiccup for Red Bull came in the morning session when Liam Lawson spun in Turn 1 – an incident Christian Horner later attributed to a gust of wind. Despite this, Lawson had an encouraging day, at one point topping the timesheet with a 1Ž31.574, before dropping back to eighth by the end of the session.
“I had so much fun out there today,” said Lawson. “There’s still a lot to learn, but the car felt great.”
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Is Red Bull in trouble? Signs of instability in the RB21?
Despite Verstappen’s solid performance, there were signs that the RB21 may not be as stable as Red Bull would like. Both Verstappen and Lawson encountered understeer issues, reminiscent of the problems Red Bull have occasionally encountered in 2024.
While test times are never fully representative of a car’s potential, the fact that Red Bull lagged behind both McLaren and Mercedes – especially given Verstappen’s usual ability to get the most out of any car – raises some questions. Could they still be struggling with some of last season’s issues?
However, Verstappen’s calm demeanour suggests that Red Bull are still in control. The real test will come when the teams start pushing the limits in race simulations later in the test.
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Power cut disrupts testing, but benefits McLaren
A power cut at the Bahrain International Circuit, later confirmed to have been caused by an external substation failure, disrupted testing for a significant period of time. This is the second year in a row that pre-season testing in Bahrain has been severely disrupted, following last year’s infamous drain cover incident.
To make up for the lost time, the FIA extended the afternoon session by two hours. This proved beneficial for McLaren as Lando Norris had only completed four laps in the first two hours of the afternoon due to a crucial set-up change.
When the session resumed, Norris wasted no time in setting the fastest lap of the day on medium tyres. Given McLaren’s strong form in the second half of the season, their early pace is an encouraging sign for the team.
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Alpine’s mood turns positive after a disastrous 2024 test
Alpine arrived in Bahrain this year with much more optimism than in 2024, when their pre-season was marred by reliability issues and a car that was both overweight and underpowered.
Adding to their challenges, Alpine announced last year that their engine plant in Viry-Châtillon would be closed, with the team switching to Mercedes engines in 2026. Despite these structural changes, early signs from testing suggest that the team is in a much better place than it was 12 months ago.
According to AMuS’s Tobias Grüner, the mood within Alpine is noticeably improved.
“The difference to last year’s test in Bahrain could not be greater,” said Grüner. “The engineers are optimistic and, apart from a small problem during the shakedown, everything is going according to plan. They don’t expect miracles, but they believe they can fight in the midfield.
If Alpine has indeed made a step forward, it could see them back in contention for regular points finishes – something they struggled with last season.
Tyre choice plays key role in pre-season preparation
A somewhat unexpected storyline on day one was the importance of pre-season tyre choices. Teams had to decide their tyre allocations weeks in advance, and with the unexpectedly cool conditions in Bahrain, some choices are already proving more beneficial than others.
Bahrain is traditionally chosen for testing because of its stable weather conditions, but the teams were faced with unseasonably cool temperatures and winds of up to 9 km/h. As a result, tyre strategy became a crucial factor.
Ferrari opted to stock softer compounds, while Aston Martin and Williams took a different approach, opting for harder rubber. With teams allowed to bring up to 35 sets to the test, these early decisions could influence who gains the most valuable data ahead of the season opener.
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Conclusion: Early indicators, but no clear picture yet
Day one of the 2025 F1 test provided plenty of intrigue, but few definitive answers. McLaren’s strong pace, Red Bull’s potential handling issues and Mercedes’ aggressive design choices have set the stage for an exciting pre-season.
While it’s too early to draw any firm conclusions, the key takeaways suggest that McLaren and Mercedes may have made significant strides forward, while Red Bull – despite Verstappen’s reassurances – still have some unanswered questions.
With two more days of testing ahead, the teams will now shift their focus to long-distance pace and race simulations, giving us a clearer picture of the true pecking order as the new season approaches.
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