Bahrain F1 pre-season testing: Ferrari seeks car limits, not performance. Bahrain F1 test: The biggest worksite is undoubtedly Ferrari.

Ferrari worked hard yesterday in the first day of official pre-season testing at the 5.412-kilometre Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir. That is exactly what Formula 1 testing is for: studying the car in the smallest details to increase understanding as much as possible. This was the goal successfully achieved by the Maranello team, which carried out the task to perfection. We extensively covered yesterday’s work program, where Ferrari adjusted the setup, but understeer remains. This morning, we are reviewing the car’s performance with a high fuel load to get an initial reference on tire consumption.

Ferrari tested different ride heights and stiffness levels in order to optimize aero-mechanical interaction. By closely analyzing the data from the first day, it immediately becomes clear that Ferrari has taken a different approach compared to its closest rivals. For greater clarity, we have chosen to consider the drivers from the four teams regarded as the best in 2025. The data refers to the afternoon session. On the first day of testing, the Maranello team faced several challenges in trying to fully understand the ideal operating window of the new car.

What has been observed raises some doubts about the Maranello-based car, while the Ferrari engineers carried out complex work to better understand the new suspension system. This is why the numerous setup and handling adjustments on the at-times difficult-to-drive car should not be surprising. To better illustrate what we mean, we can look at the difficulties Lewis Hamilton encountered yesterday. The Briton struggled to control the rear of the car due to understeer on corner entry.

Based on the telemetry data, car number 44 was extremely low, excessively scraping against the skid pad on the floor. The constant contact with the ground altered the car’s instantaneous ride height, preventing airflow from staying attached to the floor’s walls. These repeated airflow separations caused a local reduction in the pressure gradient, triggering aerodynamic stall, which reduced the low-pressure effect created by the vortices. Consequently, the seven-time Formula 1 world champion’s car lost downforce, making it unstable.

Ferrari’s engineers and technicians repeatedly tested these extreme setups during the first day, following a work program drawn up in Maranello, aiming to understand the car’s behavior at its operational limits. With Charles Leclerc, however, the focus was mainly on stiffness, aiming for a very responsive front end during long runs. This factor, combined with a higher fuel load and a less aggressive engine map, resulted in a different long-run performance. This setup approach could be dominant throughout the season.

Considering that both drivers of the historic Italian team prefer a strong front end at the expense of a more unstable rear, keeping the front axle of the Ferrari stiffer stabilizes the suspension arms in terms of vertical movement and allows the airflow reaching them to remain more linear toward the sidepods and floor. This maximizes the aerodynamic performance while simultaneously refining the interaction with the car’s mechanical components.

The various setup changes have provided engineers with a broader collection of aerodynamic maps of the car, which are crucial for updating simulator data after these on-track tests. Looking at the data, it is evident that during his race simulation runs, Charles Leclerc adopted different approaches. In the first stint, the Monegasque was more cautious initially, improving his performance as the laps progressed. This approach was evident in the final stint, whereas in the middle stint, he struggled more with excessive rear-end instability.

On the other hand, Ferrari’s direct rivals appear to have cars that are easier to understand, benefiting from continuity in their technical projects compared to last season. McLaren currently has the best-balanced car. Lando Norris completed two solid long runs, with a better average performance on Hard tires in the first stint. Additionally, the Woking team completed significantly fewer total laps than its competitors when summing up both drivers’ runs.

Specifically, the reigning constructors’ champion team completed 118 laps, compared to 122 for Red Bull, 148 for Mercedes, and 141 for Ferrari. This data highlights the world champions’ confidence in their new project, which requires less setup work. With the RB21, Red Bull has focused almost entirely on the front suspension, a component that caused major issues in 2024. Similar to Ferrari’s approach, the Milton Keynes team repeatedly adjusted stiffness and ride height.

Engineers aimed to understand the airflow behavior around the sidepods, which were completely revised over the winter, refining the interaction with the mechanical components using aerodynamic maps. On onboard footage, it was evident how the RB21 shifted from an excessively responsive front end to a lack of rotation, a problem Verstappen reported to his engineer.

At Mercedes, all eyes were on Kimi Antonelli’s debut in the morning. The Italian driver completed 78 laps of the Sakhir circuit, taking a highly conservative approach in the early laps and focusing on long runs with a high fuel load. The first day of testing at Sakhir confirmed that the W16 appears to be well-born, and McLaren is the car to beat.

The biggest worksite is undoubtedly Ferrari, which, in just three days, must figure out how to optimize its new project. Today, the Italian team will push to explore new performance limits, while tomorrow, they will focus on outright pace to truly understand where they stand compared to their rivals.

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