Lando Norris was fastest for McLaren on a chaotic first day of pre-season testing that was interrupted by a lengthy delay following a power cut at the Bahrain International Circuit.
Norris, the pre-season title favourite, set the pace with a best lap of 1:30.430 in the hour after running had resumed to head Mercedes’ George Russell, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc at the top of the year’s first timesheet.
Lewis Hamilton drove the new Ferrari in the morning session on his full testing debut for the team and completed 70 laps.
The afternoon session, when all the day’s quickest laps were set as the sun started to set, was barely two hours old when an external substation failure plunged parts of the venue – including the team’s garages and the track’s floodlighting system – into darkness and forced race control to throw the red flag for cars to return to the garage.
The session was suspended for an hour until the problem was resolved, with F1, the FIA and the teams soon agreeing to extend running by a further 60 minutes to make up for the lost time.
Ted Kravitz examines the burning questions as the cars make their way onto the Bahrain International Circuit ahead of three days of testing
When the session did resume, Norris hit the front from hitherto pacesetter Leclerc by almost half a second with a lap on the C3 medium tyres – a lap only 0.8s slower than McLaren’s best in absolute low-fuel qualifying at last year’s Bahrain GP.
Verstappen finished 0.2s back in the new Red Bull with Leclerc fourth and Williams’ Carlos Sainz fifth.
The day’s six fastest times were set by drivers who competed in the afternoon session, with Mercedes rookie Andrea Kimi Antonelli having set the morning benchmark but finishing almost one second adrift in seventh place as times later improved.
Hamilton makes solid start in new Ferrari
Ride onboard with Lewis Hamilton as he took his fastest lap during the morning session of F1 Testing in Bahrain
Much of the build-up to the new season – which starts at the Australian GP on March 14-16, live on Sky Sports F1 – has been dominated by focus on Hamilton’s move to Ferrari, the partnership that is uniting the sport’s most successful-ever driver and team.
Wednesday morning was Hamilton’s second time in the new SF-25 after the team’s shakedown at their Fiorano test track but the 40-year-old’s first real chance to start to put it through its pace on representative tyres.
He completed 70 laps, initially building up from short stints of five-to-six laps to double figures as the morning wore on. His opening session seemed to run without major setback, although he had several small moments at Turn Four where he ran slightly wide and kicked up sand.
Liam Lawson has a nervy moment in Testing, with the New Zealand driver just about managing to keep his car out of the gravel
Red Bull new boy Liam Lawson featured in the morning’s most significant off-course moment when he spun the RB21 coming out of Turn Three. His replacement at Racing Bulls, Isack Hadjar, was Day One’s other spinner with a 360-degree pirouette in the afternoon running at Turn Four.
Sky Sports F1’s live pre-season testing schedule
Wednesday February 26 – Day One
- 8pm: Testing Wrap
- 8.30pm: Ted’s Testing Notebook
Thursday February 27 – Day Two
- 6.50am-11.05am: Morning Session
- 11.55am-4.05pm: Afternoon Session
- 8pm: Testing Wrap
- 8.30pm: Ted’s Testing Notebook
Friday February 28 – Day Three
- 6.50am-11.05am: Morning Session
- 11.55am-4.05pm: Afternoon Session
- 8pm: Testing Wrap
- 8.30pm: Ted’s Testing Notebook
- 9pm: Ted’s Development Corner
When is the first F1 race?
For the first time since 2019, the season-opener will be held in Melbourne at the Australian Grand Prix on March 14-16. The first race has switched from Bahrain to Australia due to Ramadan taking place throughout March.
There are 24 events on the 2025 F1 calendar, the same number as last year, with the season ending at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on December 5-7.
Watch all 24 race weekends from the 2025 Formula 1 season live on Sky Sports F1, starting with the Australian GP on March 14-16. Stream Sky Sports with NOW – No contract, cancel anytime
