5 key questions that need answering after 2025 pre-season testing in Bahrain

The lights will be on at each and every Formula 1 team's factory through this weekend as they battle through the reams of data they collected across three days of pre-season testing in Bahrain.

The most impressive thing was the strong reliability across the board – though it’s perhaps to be expected given the rules have matured into a fourth campaign ahead of sweeping changes for 2026.

There was no clear frontrunner – and if anything, things looked closer than ever, with the top-four of McLaren, Ferrari, Red Bull and Mercedes getting cosier and the chasing midfield packed tighter than a can of sardines. That said, some trends did emerge to help build a picture of what we can expect in the early phase of the year.

Are defending champions McLaren the ones to beat?

It’s tight at the top – but McLaren would be the winners of testing if such an accolade existed.

They worked through their programme diligently, got on top of the smallest of niggles very quickly and, while the car tended to be a bit lairy at the rear, critically it was still fast and reliable.

BAHRAIN, BAHRAIN - FEBRUARY 28: Lando Norris of Great Britain driving the (4) McLaren MCL39 — McLaren looked impressive during pre-season testing in Bahrain

The reigning world champions had one big target for the year and that was to start the season off in the fight, after a slow start last year ultimately ended their Drivers’ Championship hopes before things really got going, and the evidence suggested they’ve done it.

They are fastest in the qualifying simulations – and the best of all in the long runs. The team appear to have a very good understanding of their car already – and can see there’s more potential, too.

Last year’s runner up Lando Norris and team mate Oscar Piastri were complimentary, too. You only had to look at their body language to know they feel they have a good race car under their belt.

Is it the best of the pack? It looks like it – but either way, they should have a machine to fight for victory from Melbourne.

F1 pre-season testing 2025: Day 3 Highlights

Can Ferrari, Hamilton and Leclerc fight for the title?

Based on what we saw at testing, absolutely.

The Ferrari looked like a good step on from last year, with Charles Leclerc and new boy Lewis Hamilton able to extract performance from the car without having to fight it.

Yes, there were some niggles – including the one that forced Hamilton to end his race run early on the final day – but that only served to skew the overall data and the belief is that if they get on top of it by Australia, they are in the mix to fight McLaren for the win.

Leclerc has become part of the furniture at Ferrari, the Monegasque now in his seventh season, and he looked mighty in the desert, delivering strong performance on low-fuel and race runs.

BAHRAIN, BAHRAIN - FEBRUARY 28: Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain driving the (44) Scuderia Ferrari — Hamilton is still in the early stages of his Ferrari chapter, but their was plenty of promise in testing

All the focus has been on Hamilton, but it’s likely to be Leclerc who will be able to capitalise on Ferrari’s superb car early doors – particularly as Hamilton continues to get to grips with his new surroundings.

Naturally, they aren’t getting ahead of themselves and team boss Fred Vasseur was at pains to play things down – but all the signs are pointing towards a Prancing Horse that can stretch its legs straight out of the box come Melbourne.

Just how much of a step have Williams made?

Williams have had some real nightmares at pre-season testing in the not so distant past – but there were few reasons to keep them up each night this time around as they delivered three very solid days of testing.

Carlos Sainz looked like he was getting up to speed quickly at his new team, even if he craved more time to refine the tricks he uses to maximise the potential of the car, while Alex Albon was at his consistent best once again.

Carlos Sainz reacts to three days testing with Williams in Bahrain

The team are already benefiting extensively from the feedback and leadership of two experienced drivers and while the Grove-based squad were keen to play down their positive antics in the desert, their performance suggests they have not only made a step forward but also have delivered a car that will let them fight consistently.

While they won’t be fighting for wins or podiums – they will likely face a battle with Alpine for that best of the rest spot, the French manufacturer having a significantly better time of it in testing than they did 12 months ago. That it looks like they should have a car to fight for points from the get-go is a huge step forward.

WATCH: What we learned from the final day of pre-season testing in Bahrain

Should Red Bull be concerned after tricky test?

Red Bull won’t be panicking after pre-season in Bahrain, but they know they have an awful lot of work to do if they are to have any designs on either championship in 2025.

The Milton Keynes-based squad lost track time with Liam Lawson on day two, courtesy of a water leak, and they failed to do a proper race simulation on the final day with Max Verstappen as they instead focused on trying multiple set-ups in search of better compliance.

BAHRAIN, BAHRAIN - FEBRUARY 28: Max Verstappen of the Netherlands and Oracle Red Bull Racing looks — Could Max Verstappen and Red Bull have concerns going into the first race of the year?

Reigning world champion Verstappen made the best of a car that looked like it retained the RB20’s irritating trait of excessive understeer to set the second fastest time – the Dutchman appearing to land on a set-up/wing configuration that he was happy with.

But Technical Director Pierre Wache admitted he was “not as happy as I could be because the car did not respond how we wanted at times”. And while the car is going in the “right direction”, the magnitude of that direction was “not as big as we expected”.

Our data puts them third in both qualifying and race simulations – but the feeling is they are more likely fourth behind Mercedes.

Are Mercedes back in the game?

There was a fair amount of optimism permeating through the veins of those of the Mercedes variety in Bahrain as the eight-time World Champions enjoyed one of their most seamless pre-seasons of the modern ground-effect era.

The W16 ran well across all three days and, even with the red flag interruptions and sporadic wet weather, they managed to get through most of their programme.

Still 'work to do' but a 'decent' start for Antonelli at Bahrain testing

That was particularly important for rookie Kimi Antonelli. The Italian hit the ground running in a very impressive way – and while he concedes he has plenty more to work on, including getting his head around the tyres, he was equally pleased with how much progress he was able to make in the test.

Team leader George Russell’s headline time on the final day was impressive – and while it looks like they are still fourth-best in the pecking order, behind McLaren, Ferrari and Red Bull, the gaps are close and the car looks far more predictable.

“The team has worked hard over the winter to improve the weaknesses of the W15,” said trackside chief Andrew Shovlin. “From the initial signs, we seem to have made good steps in those areas with our 2025 challenger.”

They will be wary of getting ahead of themselves, though, as they were cautiously optimistic this time last year and though they went on to win three Grands Prix, they didn’t have the consistency of pace to launch their first title challenge since 2021.