Antonelli leads first session of F1 testing in Bahrain

Mercedes’ Andrea Kimi Antonelli leads first session of F1 testing in Bahrain

In a promising start to the 2025 Formula 1 season, Mercedes rookie driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli set the pace during the opening morning of preseason testing in Bahrain. All ten teams hit the track together for the first time this year, and Antonelli's performance has certainly turned heads.

The three-day test at the Bahrain International Circuit is a crucial opportunity for teams to collect meaningful on-track data before the season opener in Australia on March 16. Notably, this session marked Lewis Hamilton’s debut in official testing with Ferrari following his move from Mercedes over the winter.

Hamilton, the seven-time World Champion, has been putting in the mileage with Ferrari, driving three different specifications, including the 2025 model, at the team's test track over the last two months. However, Wednesday morning gave him the chance to notch up significant miles in the new car. By the lunch break, Hamilton had clocked the fifth fastest time, 0.406 seconds off his Mercedes successor Antonelli, after completing 70 laps.

It's important to note that lap times at this stage of testing are often not reflective of true performance. For instance, Oliver Bearman in the Haas finished over four seconds adrift of the top time.

Teams have planned driver rotations during the hour-long lunch break, meaning Hamilton will hand over the reins to Charles Leclerc for the afternoon session.

What Bahrain preseason testing reveals about 2025

The regulations imposed on preseason testing restrict teams to running one car on track at any given time. This effectively allows for up to 12 hours of driving per teammate, evenly distributed over the three days.

The only on-track incident of the morning session came from Red Bull’s new driver Liam Lawson, who spun in Turn 2 after losing the rear of his RB21. Fortunately, the spin did not cause damage beyond ruining a set of tires, and Lawson recovered to post the second-fastest time, just 0.132 seconds behind Antonelli.

Each team has nominated 35 sets of tires for the test, with the option to choose 30 of those sets for use over the three days.

Morning session lap times:

Driver	Team	Time	Laps
Antonelli	Mercedes	1:31.428	78
Lawson	Red Bull	1:31.560	58
Albon	Williams	1:31.573	63
Tsunoda	Racing Bulls	1:31.610	79
Hamilton	Ferrari	1:31.834	70
Doohan	Alpine	1:31.841	68
Alonso	Aston Martin	1:31.874	46
Piastri	McLaren	1:32.084	67
Hulkenberg	Sauber	1:32.169	55
Bearman	Haas	1:35.522	72

As the teams prepare for the afternoon session, all eyes will be on the performance metrics as they continue to fine-tune their cars for the upcoming season.

Up Next

• Australian GP track walk returns for 2025
• F1 preseason testing kicks off in Bahrain, Hamilton on track for Ferrari

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