Day one of Formula 1 pre-season testing for 2025 has been completed - and there have been some fascinating lap times.
Testing is, as has become traditional, taking place at the Bahrain International Circuit, with teams set to take part in three days of running.
Day one saw all 20 drivers take to the track, with teams, drivers and fans getting the first representation of the relative pace of each car before next month's Australian Grand Prix.
Lewis Hamilton drove a Ferrari for the first time in an 'official' F1 session, while Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli, Red Bull's Liam Lawson and Williams' Carlos Sainz were among the other drivers to debut for their new teams.
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Testing was split into two blocks of four hours - though the second session was disrupted after a power cut brought out an hour-long red flag - which was then added on to the day's testing time to ensure that teams did not miss out on running.
Lap times are not yet particularly representative, given that there is no indication of the engine modes, fuel load or tyre wear of each car when they set their fastest laps.
Testing was also ran in unusually cooler conditions in Bahrain for this time of year, with high winds and even small spots of rain being reported during the day.
However, there has naturally been plenty of discussion on social media over the lap times and which teams may have given an indication that they are in a strong or weak position early on.
F1 2025 testing: Full lap times
McLaren's Lando Norris finished in first place with a lap time of 1:30.430, with Mercedes' George Russell in second place and Red Bull's Max Verstappen in third.
Hamilton, meanwhile, drove in the morning and completed 70 laps, setting a best lap time of 1:31.834.
That put him in fifth position after the morning running, though he dropped down to 13th after the afternoon running had been completed.
McLaren's Oscar Piastri, meanwhile, was down in eighth in the morning standings but only 0.6 seconds behind leader Kimi Antonelli.
In the second session, Williams' Carlos Sainz set arguably the most impressive time in the context of testing, with his quickest time landing him in fifth place overall.
Haas, meanwhile, were some way off the pace with Esteban Ocon and Ollie Bearman in 19th and 20th, though they may have been running different programmes to other teams.
The full results are as follows (italics participated in morning session):
- 1. Lando Norris (McLaren) - 1:30.430
- 2. George Russell (Mercedes) - 1:30.587
- 3. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) - 1:30.674
- 4. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) - 1:30.878
- 5. Carlos Sainz (Williams) - 1:30.955
- 6. Pierre Gasly (Alpine) - 1:31.353
- 7. Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) - 1:31.428 (78 laps)
- 8. Liam Lawson (Red Bull) - 1:31.560 (58 laps)
- 9. Alex Albon (Williams) - 1:31.573 (63 laps)
- 10. Yuki Tsunoda (Racing Bulls) - 1:31.610 (78 laps)
- 11. Isack Hadjar (Racing Bulls) - 1:31.631
- 12. Gabriel Bortoleto (Sauber) - 1:31.690
- 13. Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) - 1:31.834 (70 laps)
- 14. Jack Doohan (Alpine) - 1:31.841 (68 laps)
- 15. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) - 1:31.874 (46 laps)
- 16. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) - 1:31.949
- 17. Oscar Piastri (McLaren) - 1:32.084 (66 laps)
- 18. Nico Hulkenberg (Sauber) - 1:32.169 (55 laps)
- 19. Esteban Ocon (Haas) - 1:33.600
- 20. Oliver Bearman (Haas) - 1:35.522 (72 laps)
Topics: Formula 1, McLaren, Ferrari, Lewis Hamilton, Red Bull Racing, Max Verstappen
Ryan Smart