Off-season Opinion: How Preseason Testing Factors Into Race Day Results

From February 26-28, all 10 teams gathered at the Bahrain International Circuit for three days of preseason car testing, media, and press conferences. Testing weekend is the only time that teams have to test their cars before raceday at Melbourne on March 16th.

In the first morning session, Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli was fastest overall, followed by Red Bull’s Liam Lawson and Williams’ Alex Albon - very impressive for Antonelli as a rookie and Albon in the Williams! In addition to overall times, drivers were measured on sector times throughout the course of testing. For sector 1, Lewis Hamilton was fastest in the Ferrari, Fernando Alonso was fastest in sector 2 in the Aston Martin, and Kimi Antonelli took the fastest time of sector 3. 2024 World Constructor’s Champion Lando Norris (McLaren) was the fastest in the afternoon session of the first day and overall for day 1, with Mercedes’ George Russell and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen not far behind. Esteban Ocon had the most laps in day 1 with 88, and his Haas team completed the most laps, reaching 160. 2025 may be a new era for Haas, who have had issues the past few years achieving results.

A Williams car spotted zooming around the Bahrain International Circuit during February’s preseason testing. Photo courtesy of F1.

On the 2nd day of testing, Hamilton had the fastest lap time in the morning, with Russell and new Williams driver Carlos Sainz trailing his time. Hamilton also took fastest times for sector 1 and 2 in the morning, with ex-teammate Russell being fastest in the 3rd sector of the circuit.

It was Sainz’s performance in testing that received the most attention given his recent switch from perennial contender Ferrari to the mid-field Williams. In the afternoon, Sainz had the fastest time, giving hope to many Williams fans that the car could produce some results this year. Hamilton and Russell continued to show strong results with 2nd and 3rd fastest times during this session. Sainz impressively had the fastest times for the 1st and 3rd sectors as well, with Norris going the fastest in sector 3. Sainz also had the most laps and track time on day 2 with 126, with his singular results extremely close to the Mercedes team’s total lap number of 157. With Sainz’s speed and Williams’ suggested confidence in his driving, it’s safe to say that Williams is the team to watch in 2025.

A visual of the Bahrain International Circuit with the sectors outlined. Photo courtesy of F1.

On the third and final morning of testing, Ferrari’s “chosen one” Charles Leclerc went fastest overall, with Antonelli and Norris putting up a good fight behind. The sector times were similar: Norris was fastest in sector 1 and Antonelli had sectors 2 and 3 in the bag. In the afternoon, Russell reestablished his dominance from earlier in the week, followed by other successful drivers Verstappen and Albon. Albon also achieved the fastest 1st sector on Friday, and again Russell championed sectors 2 and 3 of the track. Haas once more spent the most time on the track, with the team driving 162 laps between both Esteban Ocon and rookie Ollie Bearman.

In a wild turn of events, Sainz had the fastest lap of the entire week, running a 1:29:348 in what most would call a below-average car. After Sainz left the Scuderia Ferrari F1 team, many were concerned that he would no longer be successful, as Williams has infamously faced many financial issues and scoring troubles since the late 1990’s. The root of Williams’ recent failures is attributed to a lack of resources and funding which left them at a major disadvantage compared to top teams with much larger budgets, as well as difficulty conforming to the new technical regulations. However, Sainz’s leadership and talent previously brought McLaren and Ferrari to new heights after droughts of wins and successes on track, and hopes are high for him to do the same with Williams, especially with proof of his ability to drive the car well. Of course, many experts say that testing means nothing until drivers prove themselves at Melbourne, but it is truly nice to dream.

Carlos Sainz, the most impressive driver and king of preseason testing this year. Photo courtesy of Motorsport Week.

This week also brought many funny moments - the first F1 memes and jokes of the season - that got many fans excited for what’s to come. Rain poured down in Bahrain, setting back testing sessions that had to be reinstated - kind of ironic as the circuit is chosen for testing because of its reliable dry weather. Charles Leclerc seemed to be asleep in between sessions- or was he just visualizing the track? Either way, his eyes were closed and he was described to be meditating or taking a quick nap. There was also the first animal sighting on an F1 track, with a bird waddling across while cars were whirring around. Humorous videos were posted asking “why did the bird cross the track?” in reference to the time-old chicken/road joke, which shows how funny F1 fans and the F1 account themselves think they are. Weird sights of cages with sensors and neon-green flow vis paint appeared all over social media as many wondered what these devices did - turns out they track the aerodynamics of the cars as they flow through the air to find aspects that need to be upgraded. Lastly, one broadcaster must have had trouble remembering that Hamilton signed with Ferrari for 2025, as his overhead sign stated that he still drove for Mercedes- whoops!

Overall, testing was entertaining, impressive, and maybe a little silly. The 2025 season is fast approaching, and many cannot wait to see how these results factor into raceday in Melbourne. It’s anyone’s guess how the first race of the season will go, but I for one hope that Sainz continues to prove his skill at Williams and that many silly moments continue to pop up throughout the season. As always, thanks so much for reading.

Lights out and away we go,

Lucy xx

Off-Season Opinion: My Review of the F175 Live Event

The 2025 F1 season started with a bang on February 18th with the F175 Live Event. The event took place at the O2 in London and was also streamed live on Youtube for fans across the world. The show was extremely entertaining, full of laughs, and a near-perfect intro to the 75th year of Formula 1. Let’s recap some of the highlights!

Jack Whitehall was the comedic host for the night, and his humor and jokes were on point. Repeatedly getting lost in Charles Leclerc’s eyes and teasing Max and George about last season’s beef, Whitehall consistently made the entire venue chuckle. Whitehall has been on 5 stand-up tours, hosted the Brits many times, and acted in many film and TV adaptations. Overall, Whitehall’s wit and timing were impeccable as he asked Gordon Ramsey about the swearing ban, poked fun at the cars being the same colors as last season, and asked the audience to “pray for Toto Wolff” because of Lewis Hamilton’s move to Ferrari.

The musical talent was collectively judged to be less impressive, with Machine Gun Kelly, Kane Brown, and Take That performing live at the event. None of the acts were necessarily bad, but the songs were unrelated to F1 or racing at all, although Brown attempted to be relevant by singing “Miles On It.” Fans online after the event expressed their disappointment that there were no female performers hired for the event exclusively, as there were so many singers that are popular and on topic - Rihanna could have performed “Shut Up and Drive,” or Tate McRae with “Sports car,” for example.

The all new Visa CashApp Racing Bull. Woof. Photo courtesy of F1.

But of course, the stars of the show were the liveries for each team. Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber started the show off, debuting a shockingly impressive lime green and black ombre car, with Nico Hulkenberg and rookie Gabriel Bortoleto accompanying Team Principal Matthia Binotto onstage. Following Stake was Atlassian Williams Racing, with a beautiful cobalt-blue livery escorted by Carlos Sainz, Alex Albon, and Team Principal James Vowles (master selfie-taker, apparently). Next was arguably the best livery of the night: Visa CashApp Racing Bulls’ stunning white car that just looked incredibly clean and fresh as Yuki Tsunoda and Isack Hadjar expressed positive feelings for the upcoming season. Haas was next, showcasing a sleek black, red and white livery with drivers Esteban Ocon and Ollie Bearman as well as Team Principal Ayao Komatsu. Marking the halfway point of the presentation, Alpine (introed by a DJ set from the creator of the F1 theme song) unveiled this year’s car with more blue and less pink accents as Jack Doohan and Pierre Gasly strutted onstage, refusing to show the buzzcuts under their team hats. Aston Martin’s dazzling emerald livery followed after a James Bond-style intro (featuring a performance by Tems) and Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll entering in suits and their race lids. The 7th team of the night was Mercedes, as George Russell and Kimi Antonelli unveiled the silver and black car and smiled to the audience. Red Bull Racing’s livery remains largely the same as the last few years, and Max Verstappen and Liam Lawson hyped up the crowd without any words about the upcoming season. Ferrari unveiled its new livery in a deep cherry red, and the crowd went absolutely wild for Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton. Lastly, McLaren flooded the stage with cars from past seasons as CEO Zak Brown unveiled the car with the help of Team Principal Andrea Stella, revealing a similar car to the 2024 model that won the WCC.

The stunning cherry-red Ferrari liveries. Photo courtesy of MSN.

All things considered, F1 truly put on a show, and I loved every second of seeing the drivers and cars before season testing later this week. As always, thanks for reading - let me know what you thought of the event if you watched it online!

Lights out and away we go,

Lucy xx