Eight questions to answer as F1 2025 pre-season testing begins

Cars on track! Formula 1 finally wakes up from its winter hibernation this week and here is what we are keeping an eye out for.

Formula 1 returns to the track in earnest this week as pre-season testing gets underway in Bahrain and here is what we want answering.

Eight questions to answer during the F1 2025 pre-season test

Who will come out on top?

An obvious place to start but the one that will garner the most attention is – which team will come out on top?

Be prepared to hear the word ‘sandbags’ plenty over the three days but pre-season testing does offer an opportunity to predict who will start the year strongest.

This time last year, it was Ferrari who were quickest in Bahrain with Carlos Sainz setting the fastest time of anyone and they did prove to be one of the two fastest teams during the season start.

Of course, Red Bull clocking in at fifth and sixth proved to be somewhat of a red herring as they flew out of the traps but McLaren’s ninth and 12th was reflective of the slow start they made.

That is to say, you can look at pre-season results and give a leeway of +5 places around as a general rule of thumb.

How will the first no-Newey Red Bull since 2005 begin life?

The starting point of the RB21 could hardly be different from the head start the RB20 had. An all-conquering 2023 gave Red Bull an almighty head-start but they squandered that, focusing on a design that was perhaps too complex for its own good and they were quickly overtaken by both Ferrari and McLaren.

This means that for the first time since 2022, Red Bull are not entering a season as favourites and by some predictions, are as low as third.

Coupled with the fact that their lead designer has headed 20 miles down the road and it is quite the task facing the Milton Keynes outfit.

Pre-season testing will be the first chance to see how well they have achieved that task.

How will Lewis Hamilton fare in his first proper laps as a Ferrari driver?

Unless you have been living under a particularly large rock, you will have noticed that Lewis Hamilton has changed teams this season.

With unveilings in London and Maranello as well as a few laps at Fiorano, things have all been rosy for Hamilton and Ferrari so far, but testing is the first chance for comparison between the teams.

The drivers will be heading for their first race-like laps and it cannot be understated the challenge that is facing the seven-time World Champion.

A new chassis and importantly, a new engine for the first time in his career, as well as going up against one of the most talented drivers on the grid means Hamilton could do with hitting the ground running, including with the pre-season test.

Which midfield team will spring a surprise?

While plenty of eyes will naturally be on the title race, the midfield battle is also shaping up to be one of the most competitive in recent memory.

Williams, Racing Bulls, Haas and Sauber will all be aiming to be the top team but the likes of Alpine and Aston Martin could also be dragged into the battle should they fail to make progress.

Last season, Zhou Guanyu surprised to go fourth fastest in testing but that proved to be a false dawn with Sauber firmly at the back of the grid for the rest of the year. However, in 2023, Aston Martin’s quick pace proved to be genuine with Fernando Alonso starting the season on the podium.

Keep an eye on who hits the ground running in Bahrain as that could be a sign of what’s to come.

Which teams could be a reliability concern?

While speed is the number we all like to look at, there is a different number that is much more important to the teams – laps completed.

Testing is the first chance to drive the new cars to their limits and reliability issues in Bahrain are not so easily solved in time for the first race.

Take 2023 where Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri occupied two of the three bottom spots in terms of laps completed. Then came the first race and Piastri retired while Norris completed a comical six pit stops.

Reliability under stressful conditions is a key factor of success in a Formula 1 season and this test is the first chance for the teams to see how they may fare.

Who has sprung a development surprise?

With it being the final year of a regulation cycle, there may be less focus on development this season but you can almost guarantee one team will catch the eye with a technological innovation.

At the start of this regulation cycle in 2022, it was Mercedes’ zero-pod design that caught the eye but as they soon found out, innovation is not always a good thing.

In 2024, Red Bull’s RB20 had a completely new arrangement of cooling inlets, producing a sidepod that looked like you could eat your dinner off it mid-race but while that produced early superiority, they were quickly overtaken by McLaren.

An innovation like that could make or break a season so keep a close eye on track and our analysis for which team has been bold.

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How will the five new rookies begin life in F1?

While the start of 2024 had a distinctly familiar feel, 2025 has plenty of fresh faces with five rookies on the grid.

Each has varying levels of time in an F1 car with Jack Doohan having completed a race while Kimi Antonelli’s first practice session ended with him in a wall but with a confirmed seat, this is a chance for all five of them to get used to their new drives.

There will be some personal pride in setting the quickest time but what teams will really want to see is a consistent completion of the run plan and bringing the car back in one piece.

Will the weather disrupt the run plans?

Usually you can rely on the Middle East to provide consistently warm and dry temperatures, ideal for an F1 car, but the weather gods have not been kind as the week began with rain in the area.

Come Wednesday, it looks set to be dry at least but a high temperature of 15° is not what the teams will have been anticipating.

Running in cool conditions sometimes makes it hard for an F1 car to reach its peak performance but it is also not ideal for preparing for the early races in locations like Melbourne.

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