F1 Bahrain GP data: strong middle stint for Ferrari, but Hard tyres spell disaster

Before completely shifting focus to the fifth round of the 2025 Formula 1 season, the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, let’s take one more look at some key insights from Ferrari’s weekend at the 5.412-kilometre Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir. The Italian side made a small step forward compared to the first part of the weekend, although the result remains insufficient. The Maranello team is trying to optimise the SF-25 car following the introduction of a new floor, but the step forward in tyre management is still missing. This is an area that requires a lot of effort, because as we know, tyres play a crucial role in the top category of motorsport.

Given the degradation seen in the first two free practice sessions, the Ferrari engineers and technicians opted for a more flexible strategy, with the aim of extending the first stint and better managing tyre wear. This choice only paid off with Charles Leclerc, who, after a poor start due to lower grip, was able to maintain a pace similar to the drivers ahead of him.

Lewis Hamilton, on the other hand, repeatedly complained about a lack of grip and only in the final part of the stint was he able to improve his sector times. The performance improvement of both Ferrari drivers helped to minimise tyre wear throughout the stint. A note that we can nonetheless see in a positive light.

Oscar Piastri managed his pace by maintaining a minimal gap to George Russell to prevent him from using the drag reduction system. As seen based on the telemetry data from the final part of the first stint, Oscar Piastri was far from pushing the car to its limit. Meanwhile, George Russell was skilful in managing tyre wear. Taking advantage of a softer rear setup, the Briton made good use of the throttle on corner exit, preventing his rival from overtaking.

Red Bull concluded the most difficult weekend since the start of the 2025 Formula 1 season in the worst possible way. Higher temperatures and mistakes made during the pit stop tyre changes prevented Max Verstappen from running his usual race. The problems began already in the qualifying session, forcing the reigning world champion into a comeback drive. Stuck in the midfield, the four-time Formula 1 world champion couldn’t control overheating and complained of lack of grip throughout the stint. Based on the data related to tyre degradation we can see that tyre wear with the Hard compound was high, forcing the Milton Keynes team into an early pit stop. Ferrari, on the other hand, hit their performance peak precisely in this phase of the race, with Charles Leclerc being the fastest on track.

The Ferrari drivers experienced virtually no degradation, and Lewis Hamilton was in fact the fastest on track shortly before the Safety Car was deployed. In this phase, however, the Monegasque driver suffered from the turbulence in George Russell’s slipstream, which prevented him from managing overheating. The Monegasque’s goal was to complete the overtake on the Brit quickly, but Mercedes’ strong end of straight speed prevented it.

Bahrain GP 3rd stint: Ferrari suffers from excessive degradation on the Hard
Finally, let’s focus on the last phase of the Bahrain Grand Prix after the Safety Car. On medium tyres, Oscar Piastri showed all of McLaren’s dominance on this track, with the Australian lapping over half a second faster per lap than his rivals. The cooler temperatures compared to Saturday limited this advantage, which had seemed greater during the free practice sessions.

Lando Norris didn’t show the same performance as his McLaren teammate, being slowed first by Charles Leclerc and then by George Russell. All other cars struggled with tyre degradation management in a stint run in sprint race mode. As the telemetry data also confirms, both Ferrari drivers failed to manage the wear of the hardest compound. The Maranello car was heavily limited by understeer which, as Lewis Hamilton confirmed over the radio, prevented the necessary rotation to get the most out of the car. The issue lies in the difficulty of keeping the hardest compound at optimal temperature, thus limiting the grip available to the drivers.