[Other Sport] F1 2025

Right, we're up and running. Day 1 of pre-season testing complete.

1 Norris (McLaren) 1m30.430s
2 Russell (Mercedes) +0.157s
3 Verstappen (Red Bull) +0.244s
4 Leclerc (Ferrari) +0.448s
5 Sainz (Williams) +0.525s
6 Gasly (Alpine) +0.923s
7 Antonelli (Mercedes) +0.998s
8 Lawson (Red Bull) +1.130s
9 Albon (Williams) +1.143s
10 Tsunoda (Racing Bulls) +1.180s
11 Hadjar (Racing Bulls) +1.201s
12 Bortoleto (Sauber) +1.260s
13 Hamilton (Ferrari) +1.404s
14 Doohan (Alpine) +1.411s
15 Alonso (Aston Martin) +1.444s
16 Stroll (Astin Martin) +1.519s
17 Piastri (McLaren) +1.654s
18 Hulkenberg (Sauber) +1.739s
19 Ocon (Haas) +3.170s
20 Bearman (Haas) +5.092s

All of the teams split driving duties across both drivers for the day. Generally speaking, those who were in the cars for the second half of the day posted quicker times than those in the cars earlier in the day. The quickest time in the morning was set by Antonelli. Of course, it's only day 1 of testing and we have no idea what teams were doing in terms of their test plans - and we haven't seen any qually simulations yet. But I think there's a few tidbits to glean out of the day:

1) Reliability is exceptional across all the teams.
2) Haas can't really be that slow, can they? Suspect they've spent the entire day doing controlled speed testing and not pushed the car at all.
3) McLaren, Mercedes, Red Bull, and Ferrari remain the teams to chase.
4) Williams and Alpine taken a step forward?

I'll be keeping an eye on Red Bull over the next couple of days. The "RB21" they've used today looks an awful lot like (pretty much identical!) the RB20 that finished the season last year, despite Horner claiming that they've made revisions to almost the whole car. Are they using 2024 parts still and waiting to bolt on 2025 aero package, or are they genuinely going into the start of the 2025 season with a car that is essentially the same as their 2024 car?

Day 2 ... and so far, running is being limited due to light rain. It's too damp for slick tyres, but only 2 teams (Haas and Aston Martin) actually requested any wet weather tyres and so far only Haas - with Ocon - have actually ventured out on track using the Inters for a solitary sighting lap since the rain got heavy enough to warrant them.

Raining in Bahrain? Isn't that a sign of an impending apocalypse?

Day 2 times:

1 Sainz (Williams) 1m29.348s
2 Hamilton (Ferrari) +0.031s
3 Leclerc (FerrarI) +0.083s
4 Russell (Mercedes) +0.430s
5 Antonelli (Mercedes) +0.436s
6 Stroll (Aston Martin) +0.881s
7 Lawson (Red Bull) +0.904s
8 Doohan (Alpine) +1.020s
9 Gasly (Alpine) +1.082s
10 Hadjar (Racing Bulls) +1.327s
11 Alonso (Aston Martin) +1.352s
12 Tsunoda (Racing Bulls) +1.445s
13 Piastri (McLaren) +1.473s
14 Norris (McLaren) +1.534s
15 Bortoleto (Sauber) +1.709s
16 Hulkenberg (Sauber) +2.109s
17 Ocon (Haas) +3.723s
18 Bearman (Haas) +5.024s


Few things to note:

1. Haas are clearly doing all their running with high fuel levels.

2. The note yesterday about Red Bull and the car looking so similar to what they ended last year with ... apparently this is their 2025 car for the start of the season and we should not expect any significant changes. Verstappen says it feels better than last year's car, despite the minimal visible changes.

3. McLaren focussed on long runs today, and they looked competitive. Norris' run on the C2's was substantially quicker than the others. Norris has mentioned McLaren are working on trying to address some instability at the rear of the car, but it doesn't sound like it's anything major.

4. Antonelli had an eye-catching run on the C1 compound in the Mercedes - faster and longer than equivalent runs by Norris and Leclerc. Russell has mentioned the new Mercedes appears to have resolved the issues they had last year with inconsistent performance. But it's worth caveating that with the fact that Bahrain is unusually cold for these test days, and last year's Mercedes was also excellent in colder conditions...

5. Alpine and Williams look strong amongst the midfield teams. Sauber's car apparently doesn't look great on track (both from a livery perspective and from how it handles). Haas impossible to tell due to only doing high fuel runs.

Also Hamilton seems to be far more enthused than he’s been for a while, which bodes well for him

A1X said:

Also Hamilton seems to be far more enthused than he’s been for a while, which bodes well for him

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His response when asked about the Toto Wolff remarks about his shelf life showed a lot of fire which is great to see whether you're a LH fan or not as it will make this year a lot more exciting.

Audax said:

2. The note yesterday about Red Bull and the car looking so similar to what they ended last year with ... apparently this is their 2025 car for the start of the season and we should not expect any significant changes. Verstappen says it feels better than last year's car, despite the minimal visible changes.

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Should know better. Never believe anything Horner says.

Red Bull have a new nose and front wing on the car today.

Also, in terms of Haas' slow times, it appears they have been deliberately hiding their pace. It's been noted today that while on long runs, Bearman has been lifting very early ahead of turn 1, as well as not pushing the car to its limits through the twisty bits. Why they'd still be doing this well into day 3 ... who knows. Surely we'll see them look to put a full push time on the board at some point today.

All a bit quiet on the F1 front while we're between testing and the first race in Australia, but we're now just (under) a week away from the circus re-opening with press conferences on the Thursday.

Feels like a good time for me to post my 10 pre-season predictions - my third yearly set, does that qualify them as being "traditional" yet? . As with previous seasons, some of these are very reasonable predictions, while others are a bit "out there". I'll be happy with a 50/50 result, and more than happy if I beat last year's 60%. This season I've put the "main" prediction in bold, and a bonus prediction after that.

1. McLaren are strong from the first weekend. Lando Norris shows that he's learned from last season's mistakes and secures his first WDC before the last race of the season.

2. Piastri is Norris' closest rival, but his lack of experience in a title fight sees his challenge fade as the season progresses.

3. Newey delivers a mid-season update package for Aston Martin that vaults them up the order. Alonso secures at least one podium in the second half of the season.

4. Hamilton edges Leclerc in the Ferrari battle. At least 2 wins for both drivers, but ultimately they can't match McLaren consistently enough through the whole season.

5. Red Bull can't match McLaren or Ferrari, even with Verstappen, and battle with Mercedes for third. Rumours of Verstappen looking for a move away from Red Bull emerge in the second half of the season, despite his contract through 2028.

6. Alpine are unable to refuse the financial package Colapinto brings, and replace Doohan before mid-season. This is despite Doohan performing strongly against Gasly.

7. Hadjar flounders at Racing Bulls and is replaced mid-season. Unable to promote a suitable Red Bull junior immediate, they offer Doohan a lifeline (as a former Red Bull junior).

8. Williams are the surprise package early-leaders of the midfield but are inconsistent and fade as the season progresses to finish 7th in the WCC. Sainz dominates Albon when the car is strong, delivering a two-thirds majority of their points.

9. Sauber continues to be the weakest team, but Bortoleto finds his feet quickly and shows Hulkenberg a clean pair of heels. Sauber become the first team to announce they are abandoning their 2025 car and shifting full focus to 2026.

10. Cadillac announce a surprise driver signing of a current top-tier driver for 2026, setting off another round of seat-shuffling. This is way out there, but Russell is out of contract after 2025 still and I have a feeling that if Antonelli excels then Mercedes might try for a Verstappen/Antonelli combo in 2026, leading to Russell jumping ship before he gets pushed. If Max goes, that opens a Red Bull seat, and they're going to want someone better than Lawson to lead the parent team.

I'd be pretty happy if the season pans out like you predict @Audax , although as a tifoso I'd like more than four wins.

The RB will have to be very bad for Max not to be in contention and I don't think it will be.

I actually think Hadjar will do ok, and that Tsunoda will be more under pressure to deliver as the more experienced team leader.

Agree that Doohan will be doing very well to last out the season, that Aston will improve, that Williams will flatter to deceive and that Sauber will be...well quite frankly turd.

Audax said:

Sauber become the first team to announce they are abandoning their 2025 car and shifting full focus to 2026.

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Before or after FP2 in Australia?