Formula One - Pre-Season Testing - Ignore the times?

With Formula 1 pre-season testing over, the Endurance Chaps delve into the developments on every car, the pace, the strategies, the sandbags and more.

F1 Pre-Season testing comes with an age old adage, don’t read into the times. Since it began F1 teams have used testing as an opportunity to gain data on how the car will run on race tyres. Teams often send drivers out to do partial qualifying runs where they will push in individual sectors without ever completing a lap or do full laps on higher fuel levels than they would normally run in qualifying. The colloquial term, and one that I’ll refer to many times throughout this article, is sandbagging. The idea that a team will add weight (fuel) to the cars to hide their true pace and abilities during the pre-season testing week.

Testing was, on the whole, a success for all the teams, there were no on-track mechanical failures (bar Haas’ Ollie Bearman suffering from some loose bodywork), and all teams completed a healthy amount of laps across the three day test around the Bahrain International Circuit.

ALPINE

Alpine had a quiet test this year, something they will be thankful for after last year's testing where they were the talk of the paddock for all the wrong reasons, particularly the lack of pace and poor handling the car displayed. The new A525 displayed some strong pace in the hands of Pierre Gasly as the team totalled 405 laps across the Frenchman and his rookie team-mate Jack Doohan. Doohan, somewhat predictably, was noticeably off the pace as the rookie took to the track for only his second time as an official Alpine F1 driver. The car looked stable, put together, and most importantly driveable, something the team will have hoped for after the testing woes of early 2024. With a fastest lap of a 1:30.040 laid down by Pierre Gasly, the Alpine team will be hopeful that the 2025 season will see an improvement in form as they aim to finish higher than last year's sixth in the World Constructors Championship.

ASTON MARTIN

Aston Martin were another team who had a noticeably quiet test. The British hallmark team completed only 306 laps, one of the lowest of any team in this year's testing window, and achieved an overall best lap time of a 1:30.229 in the hands of Canadian driver Lance Stroll. With a slightly skewed testing pattern due to Lance Stroll’s illness on the final day forcing Fernando Alonso to take on both sessions, the team aimed to increase the driveability in the new AMR25. At first glance it would appear that this was successful, but the team ran a very hidden testing schedule with few flying laps as the team aimed to understand this car more than last year's iteration to improve on their fifth position in the World Constructors Championship.

FERRARI

Ferrari were headliners for a few reasons across the pre-season testing window, as Lewis Hamilton turned his first laps in an official session as a Scuderia Ferrari driver. With 382 laps turned between Hamilton and Charles Leclerc, Ferrari have cemented themselves in the eyes of many fans as serious contenders for this season. Both drivers have noted that the car is enjoyable to drive, evidenced with Hamilton’s fastest lap of a 1:29.379, putting him just thirty-one-hundredths behind the fastest overall time of this year's testing. As the SF-25 roared into competitive life for the first time, Ferrari aimed to achieve a step higher than the second position they achieved in last year's World Constructors Championship. 

HAAS

Haas ran a completely classic testing program, with under their new Team Principal Ayao Komatsu, the team have taken on a noticeably data-driven approach to understanding the car, a process that saw them have a better 2024 season than anyone had anticipated. Again in 2025, Haas ran the VF-25 long and slow, totalling 457 laps in the hands of rookie Oliver Bearman and the experienced Esteban Ocon. The three day test saw Ocon post a humble best lap of 1:30.728. The team focussed purely on getting the car setup for the race and into the best possible operating window for the largely new package the team brought to the opening of the 2025 Season. Haas and Komatsu will be hoping that the continuation of their data-driven approach will help them to make the car its best race day performance, which will see them climb further up the ladder than the seventh they achieved in the 2024 World Constructors Championship.

KICK SAUBER

Kick Sauber had a rather disappointing test this year, with a total of 354 laps completed by the all-new lineup of Nico Hulkenberg and rookie Gabriel Bortoleto, possibly slightly lower than the team would have been hoping, but the team insisted that they had covered everything they had planned. This however does not avoid the evidence, that the Kick Sauber looked sluggish and slidy from onboard and offboard shots throughout testing as the rookie Bortoleto achieved a best time for the team of just a 1:31.057 on what appeared to be a qualifying simulation lap. Kick Sauber will be aiming to lift themselves off the bottom step of the World Constructors Championship table and better the measly four points they scored last year. I wouldn’t hold out hope.

MCLAREN

Everyone has been lauding McLaren as the clear and obvious leading team headed into the first round in Melbourne. The team's run plan saw them complete 381 laps after a spell in the garage on day one. The all-new MCL39 spent a significant portion of the second and third day covered in flow-vis paint, mostly whilst in the hands of Lando Norris, which did not paint a pretty picture from track-side cameras. The airflow on the McLaren seems turbulent and disrupted and the mass of aero testing run by the team during the three days would suggest to me that McLaren are currently in one of two places. Either completely confident and just testing the best configurations for a car they know will be quick, or in complete panic as a car that should have worked based on their wind-tunnel and CAD data turned out to be disjointed and underperforming. With a best lap time of 1:29.940 achieved by Oscar Piastri the papaya outfit will be looking to defend and retain their World Constructors Championship in 2025.

MERCEDES

With hot prospect Andrea Kimi Antonelli joining the team for 2025, the W13 roared into life by setting the highest total lap count of any team in pre-season testing with 458 laps run between Antonelli and George Russell. The testing passed without drama for the Brackley based outfit as both drivers completed a combination of impressive race-pace and qualifying simulation runs across the three days. The most successful team of the turbo-hybrid era will seek to return to their winning ways after finishing fourth in last year's World Constructors Championship.

RACING BULLS

With a striking new livery on the VCARB-02, the Red Bull Racing junior team took to the track in Bahrain with a new driver in their pairing as Red Bull junior driver Isack Hadjar took his place alongside Yuki Tsunoda for 2025. With a best lap time of 1:30.497 set by Yuki Tsunoda, the Racing Bulls appear to be in the midst of the midfield fight as they ran a smooth testing program. Both drivers felt confident in the car with team boss Laurent Mekies praising both drivers after the end of testing. Racing Bulls will hope to improve from the eighth place they finished in last year's World Constructors Championship.

RED BULL

Red Bull entered the season with a mixed bag of results from last year and a murky future, with Max Verstappen in the team, good results are almost guaranteed irrespective of the RB-20s performance, whereas full-season rookie Liam Lawson may find it difficult to keep up with the now consecutive four-time World Drivers Championship. The RB-20 coasted through testing with few issues barring a spin by Lawson on the first day. With just 304 laps completed, both Verstappen and Lawson pointed to some teething gremlins as the team worked to resolve the peaky performance that the vices of the RB-19 plagued Red Bull with last year. With a best lap of a 1:29.566 in the hands of reigning champion Verstappen, it is clear that Red Bull have brought a competitive package this year, but the car has seemed to still be carrying a few flaws from last year's iteration of the Milton Keynes’ based contender.

WILLIAMS

A rejuvenated Williams sprang into action for 2025 with pace that few expected, but all F1 fans were happy to see. In the same vein that many proclaim ‘everyone is a Ferrari fan’ you would be hard pressed to find a Formula 1 fan, past or present, who wouldn’t be happy to see Williams making regular returns to the points-paying positions, and possibly even podiums during Grand Prix. The car seemed to be compliant and more importantly fast, as Spaniard Carlos Sainz Jr set the fastest lap time of all in testing with a 1:29.348 taking the F1 paddock and fan base by surprise. With a laptime over a second faster than Williams’ best qualifying time from Bahrain in 2024, the hopes are high for the staple British outfit. Alexander Albon and Sainz both appeared incredibly comfortable and happy with the new FW47 across the three day test as Williams looked to make gains on their ninth place finish in last year's World Constructors Championship.

THE ENDURANCE CHAPS - TEAM PREDICTIONS

We predict the World Constructors Champion and the biggest team over and underperformers of the 2025 season. 

Olly - Chief Editor

• Constructors Champion: Ferrari - I believe that Ferrari have the most consistent car and team lineup, 7x World Champion Lewis Hamilton appears hungrier than ever, and Charles Leclerc will do everything to go punch for punch with the most successful driver of the 21st Century.

• Biggest Overperformer: Williams - The Williams team under James Vowles are a new beast, if 2024 was the budding season for the British staple team, then I expect 2025 to be the bloom that Williams and their fans have been waiting for since the 2016/17 seasons.

• Biggest Underperformer: Mercedes/Red Bull - I can see both of these teams struggling to hold good constructors championship positions this year. With McLaren and Ferrari seemingly the strongest teams and Mercedes and Red Bull both fighting one-handed due to the rookies in both teams I would not be surprised to see one of these teams slip into the midfield of the constructors standings.

Charlie - Founder

• Constructors Champion: McLaren - After a successful 2024 season I believe the motivation and drive will be unparalleled heading into the 2025 season.

• Biggest Overperformer: Williams - I think Williams will be the majority of peoples’ picks for overperformers going into the 2025 season. After an extremely successful and promising pre-season testing program, and with the signing of Carlos Sainz Jr bringing a wealth of experience and talent to deliver on track, I believe this could be the season that Williams consistently break into the top 10 on race days.

• Biggest Underperformer: Mercedes - With the loss of 7x World Champion Lewis Hamilton they are going to struggle to keep both cars in the positions they should be respective of the absolute pace of the car due to the young rookie Kimi Antonelli finding his feet in F1.

Michael - Writer

• Constructors Champion: Ferrari - After just missing out on the Constructors Championship last year I believe the team will utilise the hunger for success to avoid their typical mid-season slump and take their first championship since 2008.

• Biggest Overperformer: Williams - Williams have got their hands on one of the best driver lineups of the grid this year and off the back of an exceedingly promising pre-season test I believe will only perform better than people may have expected.

• Biggest Underperformer: Aston Martin - With Fernando Alonso seemingly at odds with the car already and the team's renewed focus on 2026 I don’t believe that even the aid of Adrian Newey, once he can begin working for the team, will be able to salvage Aston Martin’s season.

Nando - Writer

• Constructors Champion: McLaren - Both the cars McLaren have produced and their driver lineup have been on a noticeable upwards climb for the last few years. As the team as a whole continues to gain experience there is no reason they will not retain their Constructors Championship.

• Biggest Overperformer: Alpine - Many believe that with the management and driver changes the sole French outfit might struggle this season but with Gasly performing better than ever in the last races of the 2024 season and Doohan being, in my opinion, underrated I believe they could be the dark horses of the season.

• Biggest Underperformer: Ferrari - With Ferrari’s new signing of Lewis Hamilton all focus appears to be on the team in red. However with a heavy focus on 2026, I don’t believe the team have the focus necessary to perform in 2024.

Isidor - Writer

• Constructors Champion: McLaren - McLaren appear to have continued the success from the tail end of the 2024 season. As long as the team can control the drivers and manage the races better than last year I see no reason they can’t take the Constructors Championship again.

• Biggest Overperformer: Williams - Williams have come on leaps and bounds in the last two years under James Vowles and the car looked like a solid top 10 contender throughout the testing program this season.

• Biggest Underperformer: Kick Sauber - With the extreme handling issues the car is having and the new face in Gabriel Bortoleto I don’t think the team will have any focus on this year as they await the arrival of Audi as name partner in 2026.