Ferrari, McLaren and more: what teams will focus on during testing at Sakhir Circuit
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With testing in Bahrain, the season officially begins, providing the first opportunity to observe the real cars and any updates compared to their launch versions. The primary goal of the three-day testing session which is scheduled to take place at the 5.412-kilometre Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir will be to ensure that the new cars are free from unpleasant surprises, especially bouncing. In a 2025 Formula 1 championship where the competitive order is expected to be extremely tight, drivability will be the key quality distinguishing a competitive project from a failed one. Attention should also be given to tire work, as the new Pirelli compounds make their debut on one of the most abrasive tracks of the year.
The biggest unknown for a team at the start of a new season is whether the progress made with the new car is greater or lesser than that of its rivals. However, the 2025 Formula 1 championship will not be decided by absolute figures in aerodynamic load and efficiency, as teams' designs have now reached saturation and are converging towards similar performance levels. Therefore, it is pointless to focus too much on the competition; instead, teams should concentrate on their own package, aware that balance and ease of driving make the real difference.
“With the current regulations, drivability has taken on a greater role in performance compared to the past,” Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur points out. However, assessing the characteristics of a ground-effect Formula 1 car goes beyond simple correlation analysis. The teams' priority in testing will be to analyze all the physical phenomena that cannot be replicated in the simulator, CFD, or wind tunnel, but that nonetheless determine the aerodynamic characteristics and behavior of the car. “We tend to run these cars very close to the ground, making a lot of contact,” explains Charles Leclerc. “Every time you touch something, it becomes very difficult to reproduce it in CFD or the wind tunnel.”
Among the top teams, Mercedes and Red Bull are the ones seeking the most answers, both having suffered from drivability issues in 2024. The Brackley team will need to verify that the new W16 is less sensitive to temperature and setup changes, but most importantly, that it no longer experiences inexplicable bouncing episodes. Red Bull, on the other hand, will focus heavily on balance, anxious to see whether the adjustments made will be enough to realign the RB21's drivability with Max Verstappen's preferences.
The high expectations
Ferrari and McLaren were the strongest teams in the final third of last season, with all the conditions in place to remain key contenders on the grid. Both teams are starting from designs that were already very solid in terms of drivability, focusing primarily on increasing absolute performance. The SF-25 and MCL39 are aerodynamic evolutions, designed to work similarly to their predecessors. However, achieving this is not a given, considering the mechanical changes implemented. Much has been said about Ferrari’s switch to the pull-rod suspension system, but McLaren has also taken its suspension design to the extreme, shifting the balance between aerodynamics and mechanics further in favor of the former.
If it is true that drivability will be the main factor, a central theme will be Lewis Hamilton's adaptation to the Ferrari. The English driver faces a car concept that is deeply different from the Mercedes he was used to, dealing with aerodynamics and suspension behavior that are unlike those of his previous car. There will also be a need to refine the harmony with the Ferrari power unit, which differs in power delivery, vibrations, and engine braking from the characteristics of Mercedes engines. Hamilton’s adaptation path is one that can also apply to the many drivers who have changed teams, as well as the debutants, including Antonelli.
Among the phenomena that cannot be replicated in the factory and can only be tested on track, bouncing is one of the most well-known. McLaren has been practically free from it since 2022, while Ferrari struggled with it again last season. The Maranello team is optimistic about having understood its origin, to the point of solving the issue with the package introduced last year in the Italian Grand Prix at the Monza circuit. It is likely that in Bahrain, Ferrari will test extreme setups to avoid any risk of encountering the phenomenon again. The Sakhir circuit is one of the best to reveal potential bouncing problems, with its uneven asphalt and a couple of high-speed corners.
Mercedes was another team affected by bouncing in 2024, and in Bahrain, they will test its resolution with the new car. One might think that Red Bull is unaffected by the issue, as they have been free of it for the last three years. However, the RB21 aims to run lower than its predecessors in search of that extra aerodynamic load needed to compete with Ferrari and McLaren. As the distance to the asphalt decreases, the risk of unexpected bouncing increases, becoming another check on the test agenda for the Milton Keynes team.
In a grid where the gaps are now minimal, properly managing the tires will be one of the variables that will make the biggest difference. In Bahrain, the teams will get to know the new Pirellis, already tested in 2024, which have been updated both in terms of compound and casing, with improved resistance to graining. As highlighted by Loic Serra, Ferrari's technical director and tire expert, tire management is an ongoing task, continuously learning the characteristics and requirements of the tires to then translate this into adjustments to setup and driving style.
In Bahrain, the teams will test the new Pirellis on one of the most abrasive tracks in the entire championship, whose roughness accelerates thermal degradation. The track, full of corners and traction zones, is an excellent testing ground for rear tire management, a crucial test for Mercedes, for whom rear-end overheating was a critical issue in 2024. However, the Sakhir circuit presents characteristics opposite to those of the Albert Park circuit Melbourne, where the smooth asphalt, fast corners, and low downforce configuration will shift attention to the graining of the front tires. This serves as an additional reminder that what emerges at the end of testing will only be an incomplete picture of the actual performance levels.
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