Carlos Sainz Fastest, Followed by Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc
Carlos Sainz set the fastest time at the end of the second day of F1 testing in Bahrain. The Williams driver, who along with Liam Lawson was the only one to complete both sessions without sharing the car with a teammate, finished the day with a time of 1:29.348—just a tenth and a half off Max Verstappen’s pole position time from last year’s Bahrain GP. Carlos Sainz, who has now completed his pre-season testing and will return to the car only in Melbourne on the weekend of March 16, had also been the fastest on the second day of winter testing in 2024, setting a 1:29.921 while driving for Ferrari.
Fittingly, the day’s classification reflects both Ferrari’s past and present: behind Carlos Sainz, the two Ferrari drivers finished closely behind, with Lewis Hamilton just 31 milliseconds off his predecessor’s time, while Charles Leclerc (driving in the afternoon) was 83 milliseconds behind his former teammate. Fourth and fifth positions went to the Mercedes duo, with George Russell—who drove in the morning—clocking a 1:29.778, about four-tenths off Carlos Sainz’s time, narrowly ahead of his young teammate Andrea Kimi Antonelli.
McLaren Stays Under the Radar (But Not Too Much)
McLaren remained discreet—at least in terms of the timing sheets. Neither Oscar Piastri (who drove in the morning) nor Lando Norris attempted a flat-out lap to put the MCL39 directly in contention with the top teams. This quiet approach is reminiscent of a team confident in its position, and a closer look at Norris’ race simulation reinforces that impression. The British driver demonstrated an exceptional race pace, significantly faster than Verstappen’s from last year’s Bahrain GP, with almost no signs of tire degradation. In contrast, Charles Leclerc’s long run in the SF-25 was not particularly convincing and will require further analysis.
F1 Bahrain Testing, Final Day Schedule
The short 2025 pre-season testing has already passed its halfway mark and is now heading toward its conclusion. However, one final intense day of work remains in Sakhir. The cars will be back on track tomorrow, Friday, February 28, 2025, for another eight hours of testing (from 8:00 to 12:00 and from 13:00 to 17:00 CET). After that, teams will start drawing initial conclusions as they await the first lights-out of the season in Australia.
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