Charles Leclerc topped the times in the morning of the final day of F1 pre-season testing in Bahrain.
Opening hour
Blue sky and the sun greeted the teams in Bahrain, the track returning to its resplendent self as the final day of the F1 pre-season test began.
Max Verstappen was the first out onto the track at the green light, his car covered in aero rakes. After their disastrous day yesterday, the team urgently needed understanding of the RB21, with the reigning world champion pumping in the laps.
Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso stopped at the end of the pit-lane in the opening minutes, the Spaniard stopping with an unknown fault. Wheeled back to the pits, he returned to the circuit after a brief break.
Charles Leclerc moved to the top of the times after the first ten minutes from Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Ferrari and Mercedes continuing to show strong pace.
Behind them, Jack Doohan, Gabriel Borteleto, Oliver Bearman and Verstappen, and Isack Hadjar began their morning programmes in Bahrain. Lando Norris and Alex Albon ventured out after 20 minutes. With installation laps completed, all cars bar Albon returned to the pits. The Williams driver jumped to P3 after his run.
Haas suffered the first mechanical issue of any team during the three days of pre-season testing. Bearman’s car began to shed its engine cover after thirty minutes, forcing the British driver to slow down dramatically.
He returned to the pits without the need for a red flag. Mirroring McLaren, his team surrounded the car at the garage to prevent any secrets being leaked to prying eyes.
McLaren continued its pattern of gathering data on its new MCL39, but not putting the car through its paces. Running a series of installation laps, the car remained at the bottom of the standings by the end of the first hour. He had a couple of overseers during his run but continued.
Teams quietly complete programmes
The teams then began changing the cars, leading to an extended lull on track, with only Doohan out on track. Despite the quiet, Ferrari and Leclerc had racked up 18 laps, but Hadjar and Doohan led the way on lap count, tied on 21. Only Bearman remained in single figures after his wayward engine cover, on just eight.
Antonelli provided the next drama, as the screens appeared at the front of the garage, indicating the floor was off the W16.
Norris returned to the track after his extended break on the C3 tyre, as the morning session moved into its final two and ahalf hours. His effort moved the McLaren into seventh on the timesheets.
Max Verstappen, on the same tyre, looked set to complete a personal best but a wide moment ruined his effort. He remained sixth tenths of a second adrift of Leclerc. He returned to the pits after his run, and fitted a new front wing. Norris than had drama, having a massive snap of oversteer, but was able to continue, and crawl back to the pits.
Borteleto’s session looked to be done as his Sauber was moved onto the jacks, and extensive work began on the car.
A headwind got up in turn 1 of the Bahrain International Circuit, causing more drivers to have oversteer moments, including Hadjar who raised his hands angrily in frustration at the lack of handling from his RB.
Reaching the halfway point
As the session entered its final 2 hours, Ferrari chose to run their qualifying simulations, while Red Bull ran their race runs. The Red Bull decelerated on the main straight, resulting in Verstappen being wheeled back into the garage.
Norris moved into third place in the standings, now just 0.132s behind Lecler, before starting his own race simulations. Antontelli had returned to the circuit, but failed to dethrone Leclerc, moving to within a tenth of the Ferrari.
Jack Doohan returned the circuit with his Alpine covered in flo-vis paint as the session entered its final hour. The top four were closely matched on lap count, Leclerc on 42, Antonelli on 36, Norris 42 and Verstappen 36. However, Verstappen’s car was once again on the jacks, as rear suspension parts were being changed.
Final hour
As testing entered its final stages in Bahrain, track temperatures had risen to 33°C—significantly warmer than the 15°C recorded the previous day. This shift had the potential to impact performance, with Mercedes being a team to watch, as they had historically struggled in hotter conditions.
For eight drivers, this was their final hour of testing, making every lap crucial. The earlier red flag had provided an unexpected opportunity for them to confer with their teams and debrief on their progress.
Pirelli Motorsport Director Mario Isola shared insights on tyre performance during testing: “We wanted to improve the performance of the C2 tyre this year, and feedback from teams has been positive. However, the C1 had not been working well in the cooler conditions.”
He also noted that tyre degradation during long runs had been lower than usual for Bahrain, though it remained unclear how much teams were masking their true performance.
Session resumed in Bahrain after Red Flag
Earlier, the session had been briefly halted due to debris on the main straight, bringing out the red flags. Marshals quickly worked to clear what appeared to be broken glass, allowing the session to resume. Many cars returned to the track immediately, including Gabriel Bortoleto, whose Kick Sauber had been repaired and was finally back in action.
With just half an hour remaining in the session, nine cars were on track, while Hadjar remained in the pits. Lando Norris appeared to be on a more performance-focused run, showing an increase in pace. He was running third on the timesheets, just a tenth behind Charles Leclerc.
The upcoming Bahrain Grand Prix, scheduled for April 13, 2025, will span 57 laps. It covers a total race distance of 308.238 kilometers on the 5.412-kilometer in Sakhir.
During the recent pre-season testing sessions, several drivers have already surpassed this 57-lap benchmark in a single day. Notably, Esteban Ocon of Haas completed 157 laps, George Russell of Mercedes 141 laps, and Yuki Tsunoda of Racing Bulls 124 laps. Lewis Hamilton, now with Ferrari, also demonstrated significant mileage with 115 laps.
The final five minutes of the session were marked by different simulations. This included the Safety Car coming out, yellow flags and also practice starts,
Final results
1. Charles Leclerc – Ferrari
2. Andrea Kimi Antonelli – Mercedes
3. Lando Norris – McLaren
4. Max Verstappen – Red Bull Racing
5. Jack Doohan – Alpine
6. Alexander Albon – Williams
7. Isack Hadjar – Racing Bulls
8. Fernando Alonso – Aston Martin
9. Gabriel Bortoleto – Kick Sauber
10. Oliver Bearman – Haas F1 Team
Feature Image Credit: Red Bull Content Pool
