F1 pre-season testing 2025: Who was the fastest and who recorded the most laps at Bahrain’s 2025 pre-season test?

Formula 1 teams were back in action at the Bahrain International Circuit this week for three valuable days of pre-season testing. But who completed the most laps and who posted the fastest time? F1.com has rounded up the key numbers, as well as providing some context…

Mercedes

Total laps – 458

Fastest lap – 1m 29.545s (George Russell)

BAHRAIN, BAHRAIN - FEBRUARY 28: Andrea Kimi Antonelli of Italy driving the (12) Mercedes AMG

Mercedes were the most active team of the test in terms of mileage, clocking an impressive 458 laps across the three-day period – despite patches of rain, wind and a few red flags. George Russell and confident-looking rookie team mate Kimi Antonelli averaged more than 150 tours between them aboard the W16 each day, with no major dramas to report.

Alongside that, the Silver Arrows described “good steps” in improving their previous car’s weaknesses, with Russell posting the second-fastest time overall.

Haas

Total laps – 457

Fastest lap – 1m 30.728s (Esteban Ocon)

BAHRAIN, BAHRAIN - FEBRUARY 28: Esteban Ocon of France driving the (31) Haas F1 VF-25 Ferrari on

Much like last year, Haas quietly racked up the kilometres without putting in any headline-grabbing lap times – the squad finishing second to Mercedes (by just one tour) on the lap charts. That was despite an unusual incident for Ollie Bearman on the final morning of the test, which involved bodywork from the VF-25 detaching and littering itself on the track.

Team Principal Ayao Komatsu understandably expressed his disappointment at the situation but, all things considered, described Haas’ test as “decent preparation” for the season ahead.

Racing Bulls

Total laps – 454

Fastest lap – 1m 30.497s (Yuki Tsunoda)

BAHRAIN, BAHRAIN - FEBRUARY 28: Isack Hadjar of France driving the (6) Visa Cash App Racing Bulls

Racing Bulls also got through plenty of running with their new VCARB 02, calling it a “successful” test with “no major car issues”. On the lap time front, Yuki Tsunoda’s quickest Day 3 effort meant they ranked eighth out of the 10 teams, from Haas and Kick Sauber, ahead of what looks set to be another tight midfield battle this season.

Tsunoda was praised by team boss Laurent Mekies for starting the year “as motivated as ever”, while new rookie team mate Isack Hadjar proved to be “a quick learner”.

Alpine

Total laps – 405

Fastest lap – 1m 30.040s (Pierre Gasly)

BAHRAIN, BAHRAIN - FEBRUARY 28: Jack Doohan of Australia driving the (7) Alpine F1 A525 Renault on

Alpine are next on the list as the final outfit to break the 400-lap mark over the three days and six sessions on track. Heading into his first full campaign as Team Principal, Oliver Oakes insisted that “we’ve really focused on ourselves” all week, but ended the test feeling “pleased with the things we have learnt” about the A525 – giving them “a solid foundation” that was clearly missing 12 months ago.

Pierre Gasly put the team sixth on the combined timesheets, while newcomer Jack Doohan kept it clean and built up more confidence in F1 machinery.

Williams

Total laps – 395

Fastest lap – 1m 29.348s (Carlos Sainz)

BAHRAIN, BAHRAIN - FEBRUARY 28: Alex Albon and Williams during day three of F1 Testing at

Williams were one of the 2024 midfield teams who got people talking in the paddock as the test developed – the FW47 not only completing a healthy tally of laps but appearing handy when new signing Carlos Sainz set the Day 2 pace. It was a “mostly reliable” week for James Vowles’ squad, with nothing more than “a few minor issues” getting in the way of their programme.

Whether it will be enough to lead the chase behind what many expect to be a continuing top four of Ferrari, McLaren, Mercedes and Red Bull remains to be seen.

Ferrari

Total laps – 382

Fastest lap – 1m 29.379s (Lewis Hamilton)

BAHRAIN, BAHRAIN - FEBRUARY 28: Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain driving the (44) Scuderia Ferrari

There was even more hype around Ferrari’s pre-season preparations this time out thanks to Lewis Hamilton’s blockbuster move from Mercedes over the winter. “I am really enjoying the car,” Hamilton stated after his early running, explaining how he was “slowly bonding” with it while getting used to the Scuderia’s way of working.

Both the seven-time World Champion and team mate Charles Leclerc got some decent mileage in through the week, while Hamilton ended a close second to Sainz on the overall timesheets.

McLaren

Total laps – 381

Fastest lap – 1m 29.940s (Oscar Piastri)

BAHRAIN, BAHRAIN - FEBRUARY 28: Oscar Piastri of Australia driving the (81) McLaren MCL39 Mercedes

Constructors’ Champions McLaren completed just one lap fewer than Ferrari through testing as the team prepared for their title defence. A lengthy spell in the garage on Day 1 aside, Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri were frequently on track learning about the MCL39 package – which at one point went from papaya to bright green via some generously applied flow-vis paint.

Long runs from both drivers caught the eye, too, and left plenty of insiders feeling that they will pick up where they left off at the 2024 finale in Abu Dhabi.

Kick Sauber

Total laps – 354

Fastest lap – 1m 31.057s (Gabriel Bortoleto)

BAHRAIN, BAHRAIN - FEBRUARY 28: Nico Hulkenberg of Germany driving the (27) Kick Sauber C45 Ferrari

Kick Sauber combined evolution and revolution with their C45, which was put through its paces by an all-new driver pairing of the experienced Nico Hulkenberg and rookie F2 champion Gabriel Bortoleto.

A hydraulic leak impacted Bortoleto’s final session in the car, but the team still covered “everything we had planned” at the test and saw a “decent, consistent performance” from the car. But will it be enough to improve on the handful of points they scored last year?

Aston Martin

Total laps – 306

Fastest lap – 1m 30.229s (Lance Stroll)

BAHRAIN, BAHRAIN - FEBRUARY 28: Fernando Alonso of Spain driving the (14) Aston Martin F1 Team

Aston Martin had a particularly low-key test in the Sakhir desert, with the Silverstone-based operation sitting at the lower end of both the mileage charts and the timing screens. The key goal with the AMR25 was to improve driveability and, while early driver feedback suggests this has been achieved, areas were discovered “that could be better and need more focus”, according to team boss Andy Cowell.

On a disrupted final day, Fernando Alonso got some extra running due to Lance Stroll feeling under the weather.

TECH ANALYSIS: Can Aston Martin threaten the podium again with more ‘driveable’ AMR25?

Red Bull

Total laps – 304

Fastest lap – 1m 29.566s (Max Verstappen)

BAHRAIN, BAHRAIN - FEBRUARY 28: Max Verstappen of the Netherlands driving the (1) Oracle Red Bull

Red Bull also spent the winter trying to right some car development wrongs – or in team boss Christian Horner’s words, “the vices” that caused “peaky performance” last season. While Max Verstappen’s best time put the team fourth overall, they were bottom of the pile when it came to laps completed, with new partner Liam Lawson pointing to “teething gremlins”.

As such, Verstappen declared there is “work to do” before the first race, while Technical Director Pierre Wache explained how the new machine “did not respond how we wanted at times”.