For the primary time in these 2025 pre-season Formulation 1 exams in Sakhir, Ferrari topped the timesheets. It was Lewis Hamilton’s SF-25 that set the quickest lap within the morning session, which concluded simply minutes in the past.
The British driver posted a finest time of 1’29”379, breaking the 1’30” barrier for the primary time on this check. His lap was practically six-tenths faster than the quickest time recorded on the second day of 2024 testing (Sainz’s 1’29”921) and solely two-tenths slower than the lap that secured pole place for final yr’s Bahrain Grand Prix.
Though the observe remained slippery for many of the session resulting from mild however persistent rain, drivers have been nonetheless capable of persistently run on slick tires. Most groups labored completely with C3 compounds, whereas Carlos Sainz and Oscar Piastri additionally examined C2s. Notably, Esteban Ocon accomplished three laps on intermediate tires, with Haas being one in every of solely two groups to go for grooved tires, gathering helpful knowledge from his runs within the VF-25.
At Ferrari, Hamilton continued the work began yesterday, together with a short simulation on C3 tires that resembled the primary stint of a Grand Prix. Whereas his remaining lap time might not maintain a lot significance, it doubtless supplied a morale increase for the seven-time world champion as he prepares for his first full season with Ferrari.
Behind Hamilton was one other British driver, George Russell, within the Mercedes W16, trailing the Ferrari by four-tenths. His program appeared much like Hamilton’s, and the lap time distinction would possibly replicate a real hole between the 2 groups.
Russell was additionally essentially the most lively driver of the morning, finishing 71 laps. Solely Esteban Ocon, who completed final within the session whereas operating high-fuel stints, got here shut with 69 laps.
Carlos Sainz secured third place in a Williams that, a minimum of visually, appeared to swimsuit the Spaniard. He was seven-tenths off Hamilton’s time, however notably, his finest lap was set on C2 tires, in contrast to the C3s utilized by these forward of and behind him, together with Pierre Gasly within the Alpine.
Fernando Alonso rounded out the highest 5. He had spent many of the session in the back of the sector till he fitted a contemporary set of C3s, bringing his AMR25 to inside three-tenths of Pierre Gasly’s Alpine. It stays tough to find out Aston Martin’s true ambitions for 2025 or the precise aims of their check program.
Yuki Tsunoda’s Racing Bulls secured sixth place, ending simply 28 milliseconds forward of Oscar Piastri’s McLaren. The Woking-based staff centered not on outright tempo however on race tempo, which already appeared constant and aggressive. Whereas the MCL39 didn’t characteristic on the prime of the timesheets, McLaren remained extremely assured, particularly after their sturdy 2024 marketing campaign.
The one notable incident of the session occurred on the hairpin, the place Piastri collided with Nico Hulkenberg. The Australian overshot the braking zone and struck the fitting rear wheel of Hulkenberg’s Sauber. Piastri was visibly annoyed together with his colleague, although Hulkenberg had left the door broad open. The Sauber escaped unscathed, however McLaren suffered minor front-wing injury.
Purple Bull additionally confronted difficulties, with Liam Lawson finishing solely 28 laps resulting from a cooling system failure within the Honda energy unit of the RB21. In the meantime, Hulkenberg lined 56 laps for Sauber. The highest ten was accomplished by Haas, which, as in 2024 winter testing, prioritized high-fuel runs to duplicate race situations.
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