Lando Norris was quickest for McLaren on a chaotic first day of pre-season testing that was interrupted by a prolonged delay following an influence lower on the Bahrain Worldwide Circuit.
Norris, the pre-season title favorite, set the tempo with a finest lap of 1:30.430 within the hour after operating had resumed to move Mercedes’ George Russell, Pink Bull’s Max Verstappen and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc on the high of the 12 months’s first timesheet.
Lewis Hamilton drove the brand new Ferrari within the morning session on his full testing debut for the staff and accomplished 70 laps.
The afternoon session, when all of the day’s quickest laps had been set because the solar began to set, was barely two hours previous when an exterior substation failure plunged giant elements of the venue – together with the staff’s garages and the monitor’s floodlighting system – into darkness and compelled race management to throw the pink flag for vehicles to return to the storage.
The session was suspended for an hour till energy was restored, with F1, the FIA and the groups quickly agreeing to increase operating by an additional 60 minutes to make up for the misplaced time.
As soon as again on monitor, Norris quickly hit the entrance from hitherto pacesetter Leclerc by virtually half a second with a fast lap on the C3 medium tyres – a lap solely 0.8s slower than McLaren’s finest in absolute low-fuel qualifying ultimately 12 months’s Bahrain GP.
Verstappen completed 0.2s again within the new Pink Bull with Leclerc fourth and Williams’ Carlos Sainz fifth.
The day’s six quickest occasions had been set by drivers who competed within the afternoon session, with Mercedes rookie Andrea Kimi Antonelli having set the morning benchmark however ending virtually one second adrift in seventh place as occasions later improved.
Hamilton makes stable begin in new Ferrari
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Experience onboard with Lewis Hamilton as he took his quickest lap through the morning session of F1 Testing in Bahrain
A lot of the build-up to the brand new season – which begins on the Australian GP on March 14-16, reside on Sky Sports activities F1 – has been dominated by concentrate on Hamilton’s transfer to Ferrari, the partnership that’s uniting the game’s most successful-ever driver and staff.
Wednesday morning was Hamilton’s second time within the new SF-25 after the staff’s shakedown at their Fiorano take a look at monitor however the 40-year-old’s first actual probability to begin to put it by its tempo on consultant tyres.
He accomplished 70 laps, initially increase from quick stints of five-to-six laps to double figures because the morning wore on. His opening session appeared to run with out main setback, though he had a number of small moments at Flip 4 the place he ran barely huge and kicked up sand.
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Liam Lawson has a nervy second in Testing, with the New Zealand driver nearly managing to maintain his automotive out of the gravel
Pink Bull new boy Liam Lawson featured within the morning’s most vital off-course second when he spun the RB21 popping out of Flip Three. His substitute at Racing Bulls, Isack Hadjar, was Day One’s different spinner with a 360-degree pirouette within the afternoon operating at Flip 4.
Bahrain Testing: Day One timesheet
1) Lando Norris, McLaren, 1:30.430, 52 laps
2) George Russell, Mercedes, 1:30.587, 70 laps
3) Max Verstappen, Pink Bull, 1:30.674, 74 laps
4) Charles Leclerc, Ferrari, 1:30.878, 71 laps
5) Carlos Sainz, Williams, 1:30.955, 68 laps
6) Pierre Gasly, Alpine, 1:31.353, 72 laps
7) Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes, 1:31.428, 78 laps
8) Liam Lawson, Pink Bull, 1:31.560, 58 laps
9) Alex Albon, Williams 1:31.573, 63 laps
10) Yuki Tsunoda, Racing Bulls, 1:31.610, 78 laps
11) Isack Hadjar, Racing Bulls, 1:31.631, 76 laps
12) Gabriel Bortoleto, Sauber, 1:31.690, 59 laps
13) Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari, 1:31.834, 70 laps
14) Jack Doohan, Alpine 1:31.841, 68 laps
15) Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin, 1:31.874, 46 laps
16) Lance Stroll, Aston Martin, 1:31.949, 42 laps
17) Oscar Piastri, McLaren, 1:32.084, 66 laps
18) Nico Hulkenberg, Sauber, 1:32.169, 55 laps
19) Esteban Ocon, Haas, 1:33.600, 88 laps
20) Oliver Bearman, Haas, 1:35.522, 72 laps
Sky Sports activities F1’s reside pre-season testing schedule
Wednesday February 26 – Day One
- 8pm: Testing Wrap
- 8.30pm: Ted’s Testing Pocket book
Thursday February 27 – Day Two
- 6.50am-11.05am: Morning Session
- 11.55am-4.05pm: Afternoon Session
- 8pm: Testing Wrap
- 8.30pm: Ted’s Testing Pocket book
Friday February 28 – Day Three
- 6.50am-11.05am: Morning Session
- 11.55am-4.05pm: Afternoon Session
- 8pm: Testing Wrap
- 8.30pm: Ted’s Testing Pocket book
- 9pm: Ted’s Growth Nook
When is the primary F1 race?
For the primary time since 2019, the season-opener can be held in Melbourne on the Australian Grand Prix on March 14-16. The primary race has switched from Bahrain to Australia as a result of Ramadan going down all through March.
There are 24 occasions on the 2025 F1 calendar, the identical quantity as final 12 months, with the season ending on the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on December 5-7.
Watch all 24 race weekends from the 2025 Formulation 1 season reside on Sky Sports activities F1, beginning with the Australian GP on March 14-16. Stream Sky Sports activities with NOW – No contract, cancel anytime
