McLaren's impressive speed in Bahrain: Drivers temper expectations

Dominika Jordan
Apr 11, 2025, 5:57 PM ET

McLaren leads Bahrain practice with strong pace as Norris and Piastri shine.

Red Bull Racing/Red Bull Content Pool

McLaren arrived in Bahrain with a notable target: to secure their first victory at the desert venue. Judging by their performance in Friday's practice sessions, the British team appears poised to rewrite their history at this track.

Friday’s practice saw Lando Norris maintaining his streak of topping every FP1 session this season, with teammate Oscar Piastri reinforcing McLaren’s brisk pace during the more representative second session. Despite the promising outlook, both drivers aimed to temper expectations. However, rival Charles Leclerc couldn't help but remark that McLaren seems “on another planet” in terms of raw speed, a statement supported by our data analysis.

In Qualifying simulations, McLaren’s advantage over closest competitors Red Bull was around 0.4 seconds. While this lead narrows to 0.2 seconds per lap in race pace, it remains significant. Their superiority is most evident in low- and medium-speed corners, thanks to exceptional mechanical grip.

Moreover, McLaren’s performance in the final sector is encouraging, indicating effective tire management. With these factors combined, it’s no surprise the entire paddock views McLaren as the favorites for pole position and the race win.

Reigning World Champion Max Verstappen expressed frustration over the “massive” gap to McLaren, highlighting his struggles with grip and general car feel. He mentioned extensive work needed on the long run and described the experience of running the soft tire compound as “not a lot of fun,” especially after sacrificing his car to Ayumu Iwasa in FP1.

Red Bull experimented with split set-ups across their cars. Yuki Tsunoda faced a challenging session marked by discomfort and miscommunications with his race engineer.

Mercedes had an encouraging performance, nearly matching Red Bull and Ferrari in Qualifying pace, separated by merely 0.07 seconds. In terms of race pace, Mercedes competes closely with Red Bull for the best position behind McLaren, whereas Ferrari trails slightly. Mercedes' strength lies in their efficiency on straights and high-downforce corners, although they lose out in low-speed areas.

Ferrari tested a new floor on Friday, which met expectations according to both Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc. Leclerc landed P4 on the grid, while Hamilton, despite needing to find an additional 0.68 seconds, could have achieved P4 if he had optimized his mini sectors, indicating potential improvement beyond the data predictions.

F1 rookie Isack Hadjar continued his impressive start, recording the sixth fastest time under the lights in Bahrain, just behind fellow newcomer Kimi Antonelli. The Racing Bulls have consistently demonstrated strong Qualifying pace this season, holding fifth in the midfield hierarchy. However, their race pace slips slightly behind Williams, yet they stay within a tenth of a second, making another points finish for Hadjar a plausible outcome.

Williams, despite their P7 standing in Qualifying simulations, have high hopes for reaching Q3. Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz believe they are capable of securing a Q3 spot, with Sainz showing progress with his new team on Friday. Our data suggests that if Williams makes it into Q3, their race pace should be sufficient to convert a top-10 start into points on Sunday.

As the teams prepare for Qualifying and race day in Bahrain, McLaren stands out as the front-runner, potentially on the brink of their first victory at this desert track. However, with Red Bull grappling with setup issues and Mercedes and Ferrari demonstrating competitive pace, the race promises thrilling battles throughout the field.