The Bahrain Grand Prix was won, as expected, by a McLaren MCL39 car. Oscar Piastri continued his steady growth, dominated from start to finish, and once again outperformed an inconsistent Lando Norris. Ferrari tried right up to the end to reach the podium with the tools currently at its disposal, with Charles Leclerc continuing to give his all. There was also a small show of pride from Lewis Hamilton, who finished only fifth but showed glimpses of pace during the second stint.
The Maranello team delivered its best race of the 2025 Formula 1 season. Of course, that didn’t take much, considering the disastrous Sundays at the start of the new championship, although a small sign of progress had been seen in the Japanese Grand Prix. The updated floor might have helped in that regard, though only by a few hundredths of a second — at least that was the warning given by team principal Frederic Vasseur after the race.
It was a Grand Prix in which Ferrari took a risk, trying something different with tyre strategy: both Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton started on new medium tyres, while all others were on used softs. This difference placed the Monegasque driver at a clear disadvantage at the start, as he was overtaken by both George Russell and Lando Norris. The latter made a powerful start, aided by an incorrect grid position, which earned him a five-second penalty that was served at the first pit stop.
The two SF-25 cars didn’t extend the first stint much beyond those on softs, coming into the pits together and keeping the yellow-marked compound for the second part of the Bahrain Grand Prix. This opened up an important window for track position for Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton, who were undoubtedly the fastest on track in the second stint. Then a Safety Car was deployed following a collision between Yuki Tsunoda and Carlso Sainz, which left debris on the track and effectively ruined the Maranello team’s plans at the 5.412-kilometre Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir.
Indeed, the final stint would likely have been on soft tyres, something the SF-25 cars probably could not have handled for around 25 laps — or at least that was what those directly involved claimed. At that point, with the Safety Car on track, everyone pitted for new tyres, and Ferrari returned to the Bahrain circuit on hard tyres, at a clear disadvantage compared to the McLaren cars, who were on new mediums and also against the Mercedes W16 car of George Russell on softs.
Charles Leclerc was then third behind Oscar Piastri and George Russell, but ahead of Lando Norris. He did everything possible to hold the position against the Briton, who ultimately prevailed a few laps from the end, after what was still a fine defensive effort by Ferrari’s number 16. But there was little he could do against McLaren’s superior performance and Lando Norris’s fresher, more effective tyres, as the current championship leader had the edge. Just like at the Suzuka circuit in Japan, Ferrari gave everything, but it still wasn’t enough.
Charles Leclerc explained that the strategy was the one they had planned, but he had imagined the race unfolding differently, especially in the opening laps — he had thought a one-stop strategy might have been possible. With the Safety Car, which obviously couldn’t be predicted, the most logical option became two stops. He said they suffered a lot with degradation and were forced to fit hard tyres, because with softs they would never have made it to the end.
The Monegasque driver admitted that Mercedes had a more complete car in the Bahrain weekend, which allowed George Russell to be more daring. Ferrari has given everything, but unfortunately it once again is not enough. Until he ended up behind George Russell, the feeling with the car had been good. From that point on, however, the tyres began to overheat, and he could no longer drive the way he wanted.
Even the first stint was not bad, though the balance wasn’t perfect. In the second, they had improved a bit, but with the hards they hadn’t found the rhythm they were hoping for. Charles Leclerc said he hoped to return to fighting for the podium soon. Finishing fourth after giving everything was disappointing; he couldn’t smile at the end of the day, even though he knew they did their utmost. But it was still not enough.
Lewis Hamilton completed his best race since becoming a Ferrari driver — not counting the Sprint Race win, which remained his only real highlight so far. Fifth place certainly wouldn’t thrill the tifosi, but it did go some way toward dispelling the issues the Briton himself had acknowledged the day before. His dejection had been clear — the feeling with the SF-25 still wasn’t there, and there was a lot of work to do, especially as Charles Leclerc was managing to extract more performance at this stage, assuming the role of team leader.
However, that second stint, during which Lewis Hamilton was as fast as his teammate in Bahrain, needs to become a starting point and provide the confidence that is currently lacking.
Lewis Hamilton stated that overall, it had been a solid race. The seven-time Formula 1 world champion got off to a decent start, gained a few positions in the early phases, and felt competitive especially in the middle stint on mediums, during which he had also managed some good overtakes. The pace was strong, and he had been able to push while maintaining consistent lap times — something he hadn’t managed in previous races.
The Briton noted that the car balance had worsened slightly in the final laps on hards, but overall he was satisfied. He thanked the team, saying the strategy and pit stops had been executed perfectly and had made a real difference for him. They had gathered important data over the weekend and intended to approach Jeddah in the same way. The British driver also thanked the fans for their ongoing support, which he said was truly essential.
Lewis Hamilton admitted he hadn’t expected things to go so poorly in the opening races, nor that the performance would be so disappointing. He did not imagine his ability to adapt would fluctuate so much. Lewis Hamilton hopes he did at least show that he still had something inside, and that his goal now was to draw even more from that potential.
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