The sand dunes are alive with the sound of hybrid V6 engines! Formula 1 is back for 2025, and the first stop on the calendar was the pre-season test at the Bahrain International Circuit. Testing has never been about the lap times - it's about stealing the first look of the new cars for the upcoming season. Who’s played it safe by opting for minor adjustments to their car, and who’s risked it all to win big?

For all teams though, the work on redesigning their cars began before their 2025 challengers had been unveiled, as a tightening of the flexible front wing rules will come into force from the Spanish Grand Prix. This rule has irritated Red Bull the most, as they say it will negatively impact their 2025 challenger, the RB21. Causing further worry to the Milton Keynes-based team, reigning Constructors’ Champions McLaren stated that they have already recovered the performance that stands to be lost by the regulation change.

Pre-season testing: day one

The first day of testing began with all 20 drivers getting to grips with their 2025 cars for the first time. McLaren immediately showed pace with both Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, with both drivers looking confident in their new machinery. 

Ferrari also looked strong with Sir Lewis Hamilton getting his first public test as a driver in red. The Scuderia’s new challenger - the SF25 - is greatly evolved from last year's car, now featuring pullrod suspension at the front, and the P-shaped inlets which seem to be this year’s Eureka moment across the paddock. Mercedes-AMG have followed suit, introducing similar inlets to what we first saw on the 2024 Red Bull.

The morning session was fairly uneventful, with new Red Bull driver Liam Lawson having a minor spin at turn 2 as he got to grips with his machinery. The afternoon session began with Racing Bulls rookie Isack Hadjar pirouetting into turn 4, but emerging with his car unscathed.

The session continued as normal until a power cut hit the circuit; had the sun completely set, the drivers would’ve been wishing for headlights on their way back to the pitlane. The consequential red flag lasted for an hour, with most mechanics working on their cars with phone torches. 

The time lost to the red flag was reinstated, and day 1 of pre-season testing ended an hour later than it should have, but no team was complaining about getting the run-time. As is often the case at the first test, flow-vis paint gets applied to cars so the team can see exactly how the air moves around each machine.

At the end of day one, Lando Norris’s MCL39 was more neon green than actual Papaya Orange, and was shielded by the entire McLaren team on its return to the pits. An orange human shield deflected cameramen and prying eyes in the strangest occurrence of the day. Lando Norris set the fastest time on the first day adding to the fans' speculations of McLaren being the one to beat this year. 

Day two

The second day began with another bizarre incident, a rain shower in the desert. Something usually simulated by players of the F1 24 game as a joke, the track became damp enough to require intermediate condition tyres, with Haas being one of the few teams who brought the grooved rubber with them to Bahrain.

The first collision of the 2025 F1 season goes to Oscar Piastri and Nico Hülkenberg, when the Australian driver clipped the rear right tyre of the Sauber, but both cars suffered no major damage.

Carlos Sainz, now in a Williams, set the fastest time of the day, which would subsequently also be the fastest time of all the three days combined, a 1:29:348. Williams seem to have found some pace - at least in testing - and will be looking to improve on their 9th place in the Constructors’ Championship last year. The team from Grove have a lot of talent in their line up with Sainz joining Alex Albon. 

Later in the day, Sainz spun later at the first corner, with the Spaniard pushing his new Willams to the limit - and beyond. Red Bull had a water pump issue, forcing Liam Lawson to give up some track time, before completing the day’s running with no further issues.

Day three

The third and final testing day began with two incidents: a red flag for broken glass on the pit straight - the origins of which are still unknown - and a bus joining the track. However, the drivers pushed to get in as many laps on the board as possible before the first race of the season, with Alex Albon completing an impressive 137 laps on the day. 

Haas continued their run of car issues on each day, with the engine cover flying off and disintegrating after a few laps into the morning session. Meanwhile, Red Bull continued their tradition of bringing a suite of upgrades to the final testing day, and reigning Drivers’ Champion Max Verstappen was in the car for the entire day.

After three days and 3,896 laps completed, Formula 1 is ready for 2025. While it’s unwise to read into testing in the same way as a qualifying session for outright performance, there are some clear stand-outs from the three days in the desert. 

McLaren were the pre-test favourites, and definitely looked the best on track when it came to race simulations, but they also showed strong flying lap pace. Ferrari’s choice to heavily modify their car concept looks promising, with all times considered. Red Bull saved the best for the last day, and Verstappen looked comfortable with his new racer. However, the pressure is already on Lawson if the team wants a shot at winning the World Constructors’ Championship this year. 

Mercedes-AMG definitely have made a step in the right direction for the final year of the ground effect regulations, with Russell topping the timing sheets on the final day. Alpine and Williams look to be strong contenders in the midfield, with Aston Martin focusing more on 2026 than this year now that Adrian Newey has started his role at Silverstone. Haas, Racing Bulls, and Kick Sauber are the outliers with work to do post-test. No doubt some at Sauber are longing for their switch to become the Audi factory team to come sooner rather than later.

The season ahead

With testing done and the drivers up to speed with their cars, Formula 1 returns for the season-opening Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne on the 16th of March. The sandbagging will cease, and the gloves will truly come off as the fight for supremacy in the 2025 F1 season begins. Ferrari took home a 1-2 at the opening race of 2022, and Red Bull followed suit in 2023 and 2024. This year, I predict that McLaren will continue their run of form from last year, and start the season off with a dominant 1-2.

If Ferrari get their heavily reworked package set up perfectly, they will challenge McLaren for Grand Prix victories, but I think The Scuderia will take around four to five races to master their new car. I am excited to see Mercedes-AMG rebound after a couple of rough years. Many eyes will be on their rookie driver, Kimi Antonelli, especially as he’s been called the ‘next Verstappen’ on multiple occasions. Personally, I’m excited to see what he can do with a fairly competent car. 

Drivers to keep an eye on

My prediction for a stand out driver this year is Liam Lawson. Having watched and supported him since his Formula 4 days, he finally has a chance to perform in a championship winning car, and I wish him all the best.

However, my early prediction for who will reign supreme has to be Max Verstappen. He’s certainly the favourite to claim his fifth consecutive championship, but many are touting a long lasting title fight that could last until the final race of the season. The 2010 World Drivers’ Championship came down to a thrilling multi-way fight in Abu Dhabi, and I’d love to see this happen again.

Calendar highlights

With 23 races on this year’s F1 calendar, the two that I’m hoping will continue to provide blockbuster weekends are the British Grand Prix at Silverstone, and the Sao Paulo Grand Prix at Interlagos. The action may be spiced up by incoming rule changes regarding flexible front wings, with more stringent regulations being brought in from the ninth race of the season - the Spanish Grand Prix.

If some teams master the new rules, and others fall short, the pecking order may change drastically from the start of the European season.

With just a matter of days before the season opener in Melbourne, excitement is at an all time high. While this feature looks ahead to the upcoming year of racing, many of us, including myself, will be looking back at the action from 2024 with the new season of Drive to Survive which premieres today on Netflix.

The 2025 F1 season gets underway at 6am UK time, but there’s nothing quite like a boost of adrenaline early in the morning as 20 of the best drivers in the world begin their fight for championship supremacy in Formula 1.