What to watch out for on Day 1 of Bahrain F1 pre-season testing

Follow live text coverage of the Bahrain pre-season test here

Taking over from Barcelona, Bahrain has become F1's go-to spot for winter testing thanks to its more benign, reliable weather and its central location in the Middle East, with cars then shipped off to the opening round of the season.

In previous years teams would just stay in Bahrain for the season opener the following week, but due to the Ramadan the 2025 calendar has a rejigged opening leg of the season, with Melbourne's Australian Grand Prix now raising the curtains on 16 March.

This week all 10 teams receive three days at the Bahrain International Circuit - from Wednesday to Friday - to dial in their new equipment and iron out any kinks, running one car per test day. That means drivers are set to run just one day and a half each, with track time especially scarce for 2025's huge rookie class.

Every day the morning session runs from 07:00 until 11:00 GMT. Following a one-hour lunch break the action continues for another four hours from 12:00 until 16:00 GMT.

Line-up for 2025 F1 Bahrain test

Team	Wednesday 26 February	Thursday 27 February	Friday 28 February
McLaren	Oscar Piastri (AM)  Lando Norris (PM)	Oscar Piastri (AM)   Lando Norris (PM)	Lando Norris (AM)  Oscar Piastri (PM)
Ferrari	Lewis Hamilton (AM)  Charles Leclerc (PM)	TBA	TBA
Red Bull Racing	Max Verstappen (AM)  Liam Lawson (PM)	Liam Lawson	Max Verstappen
Mercedes	Andrea Kimi Antonelli (AM)  George Russell (PM)	George Russell (AM)  Andrea Kimi Antonelli (PM)	Andrea Kimi Antonelli (AM)  George Russell (PM)
Aston Martin	Fernando Alonso (AM)  Lance Stroll (PM)	Fernando Alonso (AM)  Lance Stroll (PM)	Lance Stroll (APM)  Fernando Alonso (PM)
Alpine	Jack Doohan (AM)  Pierre Gasly (PM)	Pierre Gasly (AM)  Jack Doohan (PM)	Jack Doohan (AM)  Pierre Gasly (PM)
Haas	Oliver Bearman (AM)  Esteban Ocon (PM)	Esteban Ocon (AM)  Oliver Bearman (PM)	Oliver Bearman (AM)  Esteban Ocon (PM)
Racing Bulls	Yuki Tsunoda (AM)  Isack Hadjar (PM)	Yuki Tsunoda (AM)  Isack Hadjar (PM)	Isack Hadjar (AM)  Yuki Tsunoda (PM)
Williams	Alex Albon (AM)  Carlos Sainz (PM)	Carlos Sainz	Alex Albon
Sauber	Nico Hulkenberg (AM)  Gabriel Bortoleto (PM)	Nico Hulkenberg (AM)  Gabriel Bortoleto (PM)	Gabriel Bortoleto (PM)  Nico Hulkenberg (AM)

Tyres selected per team

Tyre colours | C1: white (no brackets) — C2: white — C3: yellow (no brackets) — C4: yellow — C5: red (no brackets) — C6: red — Intermediate: green — Wet: blue

Five things to look out for on Day 1

Rookies get another taste of F1

Among the six drivers set for their first full season in F1, three already have grand prix racing experience: Liam Lawson (11 starts), Oliver Bearman (3 starts) and Jack Doohan (1 start).

On the other hand, Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Isack Hadjar and Gabriel Bortoleto are debutants in the purest meaning of the term, and their first half-day of testing on Wednesday will be crucial for them to start racking up valuable mileage. Mercedes is running its Italian protege in the morning, while the Frenchman and the Brazilian will be on track in the afternoon for Racing Bulls and Sauber respectively.

Hamilton and Ferrari emerge under the spotlight

It has been a winter of firsts for Lewis Hamilton – first time in Maranello, first time at the wheel of a Ferrari F1 car, first time driving the new SF-25. The seven-time world champion's preparation is ramping up, and his first televised outing with the Scuderia in the morning session will be another scrutinised step towards his maiden grand prix in red.

Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari

Photo by: Ferrari

After the 40-year-old struggled to get the most out of the Mercedes W15 last year, the Bahrain test – the only meaningful running before the Australian Grand Prix – will be all the more important to him.

More drivers are seen with their new teams

The 2025 transfer market was eventful, and as there hasn't been any televised testing since the end of last season, this will also be the first time viewers witness some new driver-and-team combinations.

Nico Hulkenberg will be back at the wheel of a Sauber in the morning after he raced for the team in 2013, while in the afternoon, Lawson, Esteban Ocon and Carlos Sainz will drive for Red Bull, Haas and Williams respectively.

A first hint about performance and reliability

Testing times should always be taken with a pinch of salt, but hardcore fans will be keen to analyse every single lap and potentially find cause to believe their favourite driver or team is doing well.

Meanwhile, reliability issues aren't to be expected in the last year of the current technical regulations, but surprises can always happen. Williams had struggled a lot in this area last year, but this was partly down to the car being finalised so late, and the team's successful Silverstone shakedown points to a healthier package this time around.

Pirelli's full range of tyres gets tested... or will it?

The test is an opportunity for Pirelli to try out all of its 2025 compounds, whereas the Italian manufacturer takes only three of them to each grand prix. There are six different compounds this year, with new extra-soft C6 rubber, and even the intermediate and wet might be drawn on as there's a slight but non-negligible chance of rain on Wednesday (and Thursday) – currently rated at 10% throughout Day 1 and up to 45% at times on Day 2.

However, only Ferrari and Williams have selected C5 and C6 tyres, while Aston Martin and Haas have the only wet-weather rubber.