The wait is finally over for motorsport fans, as Formula 1 officially kicked off its 2025 campaign with a dramatic day 1 of pre-season testing at the Bahrain International Circuit. Against the odds, Mercedes wunderkind Kimi Antonelli dominated the morning session with an impeccable lap time of 1:31:428 before Lando Norris clinched the fastest lap of the day in the afternoon session.
George Russell followed Norris into P2, with Max Verstappen, Charles Leclerc, and Carlos Sainz rounding out the top five. Meanwhile, Lewis Hamilton finished his day in P13 for Ferrari after completing 70 laps in the morning. Here’s how the opening day of pre-season testing unfolded in Bahrain.
Antonelli & Lawson shine as Hamilton settles for P5
As the lights turned green at the end of the pit lane, several drivers, including Lewis Hamilton, sported the aero rakes on their cars – a common sight in the opening hour of pre-season testing. 20 minutes into the session, drivers finally began pushing for faster laps, with Lawson topping the timesheets with a 1:35.806.
🏁Formula 1 Testing Day 1
Morning Session ✅
Afternoon Session ✅Lando Norris tops the sheets in a Red Flag disturbed day of testing!#F1 #F1Testing pic.twitter.com/F1csz6tWJ9
— Fastest Pitstop (@FastestPitStop) February 26, 2025
However, the Red Bull driver’s lap was soon toppled by Hamilton on medium tyres followed by Alexander Albon and Fernando Alonso. Amidst the growing Alpine rumours, even Jack Doohan looked rather comfortable in his car and enjoyed a fair bit of time leading the time charts.
But, in the end, Antonelli managed to secure the fastest lap of the session, clearing Lawson by 0.132s. On the other side of the pit lane, Oscar Piastri spent most of the morning in the garage and was the last driver to set a lap time. However, despite the delay, the Australian managed to complete 66 laps, turning what seemed like a slow start into a productive session for McLaren.
When it came to tyres, all drivers ran the yellow-marked mediums, except for Lawson, who opted for the hard compound. Although there were no major incidents during the session, drivers like Nico Hülkenberg and Alex Albon entertained the viewers with a fun duel on the main straight.
Power outage disrupts F1 teams in afternoon session
It took 25 minutes into the session for drivers to finally leave the pit lane and hit the track, with Isack Hadjar starting off the proceedings followed by Esteban Ocon in his new outfit. Soon after, Max Verstappen left the Red Bull garage on hard tyres to set his first official lap of the year.
Inching towards the hour mark, Verstappen and his former teammate, Pierre Gasly, made their way into the top 3. Then arrived George Russell with the benchmark lap of 1:31:082, beating Antonelli by 0.346s, with Lando Norris and Charles Leclerc joining the party later into the session.
The rain’s started falling in Bahrain 🌧️#F1Testing #F1 pic.twitter.com/0VxVMxa5Ck
— Formula 1 (@F1) February 26, 2025
Leclerc was leading the timesheets when the Bahrain International Circuit went dark with nearly two hours left on the clock. The torches came out and so did the red flags within the next couple of minutes, and it wasn’t until an hour later that FIA finally resumed the session with an extra hour running added to the bucket, compensating for the delay.
In the final part of the day, Norris went on to secure the fastest lap with a 1:30:430, edging Russell by just 0.157s. The defending Formula 1 world champion, Verstappen, completed his day for Red Bull in P3.
What to expect for Day 2 of Formula 1 pre-season testing?
All 20 drivers preferred to stay with medium and hard tyres throughout day 1. Therefore, one can expect a minor change of approach for the second day, with drivers potentially getting a taste of the red-marked soft compound.
However, with rain on the radar throughout the day, are we headed towards a chaotic day 2 with teams potentially being forced to rely on intermediate tyres?
