That concludes our live coverage of a busy opening day of F1 testing in Bahrain but stay on Crash.net for all the best news and reaction following an interrupted Wednesday.
We will resume our live coverage of Day 2 tomorrow morning, with the session getting underway at 7am UK time.
| 2025 F1 Bahrain Pre-Season Testing - Day One | |||||
| Pos | Driver | Nat. | Team | Time | Laps |
| 1 | Lando Norris | GBR | McLaren F1 Team | 1m30.430s | 52 |
| 2 | George Russell | GBR | Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team | 1m30.587s | 70 |
| 3 | Max Verstappen | NED | Oracle Red Bull Racing | 1n30.674s | 74 |
| 4 | Charles Leclerc | MON | Scuderia Ferrari HP | 1m30.878s | 71 |
| 5 | Carlos Sainz | ESP | Atlassian Williams Racing | 1m30.955s | 68 |
| 6 | Pierre Gasly | FRA | BWT Alpine F1 Team | 1m31.353s | 72 |
| 7 | Andrea Kimi Antonelli | ITA | Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team | 1m31.428s | 78 |
| 8 | Liam Lawson | NZL | Oracle Red Bull Racing | 1m31.560s | 58 |
| 9 | Alex Albon | THA | Atlassian Williams Racing | 1m31.573s | 63 |
| 10 | Yuki Tsunoda | JPN | Visa Cash App Racing Bulls F1 Team | 1m31.610s | 78 |
| 11 | Isack Hadjar | FRA | Visa Cash App Racing Bulls F1 Team | 1m31.631s | 76 |
| 12 | Gabriel Bortoleto | BRA | Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber | 1m31.690s | 59 |
| 13 | Lewis Hamilton | GBR | Scuderia Ferrari HP | 1m31.834s | 70 |
| 14 | Jack Doohan | AUS | BWT Alpine F1 Team | 1m31.841s | 68 |
| 15 | Fernando Alonso | ESP | Aston Martin Aramco F1 Team | 1m31.874s | 46 |
| 16 | Lance Stroll | CAN | Aston Martin Aramco F1 Team | 1m31.949s | 41 |
| 17 | Oscar Piastri | AUS | McLaren F1 Team | 1m32.084s | 66 |
| 18 | Nico Hulkenberg | GER | Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber | 1m32.169s | 55 |
| 19 | Esteban Ocon | FRA | MoneyGram Haas F1 Team | 1m33.600s | 88 |
| 20 | Oliver Bearman | GBR | MoneyGram Haas F1 Team | 1m35.522s | 72 |
McLaren staff surrounded their car, which is covered in flo-vis green paint, to block photographs.
They don't want any clues going to their rivals.
Day 1 of testing in Bahrain has finished. Here's the top five.
Lando Norris emerges with plenty of flo-vis on his McLaren for the final few minutes.
His car looks almost like a Sauber!
Oliver Bearman is 20th, Esteban Ocon 19th, with a few minutes left.
But don't read anything into that, yet!
Norris is still top of the timesheet.
Below is a shot of the rear wing.
Below is a shot of the steering wheel of the W16.
Here's the front suspension.
Russell posts a 1:34.130 lap which is not enough to edge Norris at the top of the timesheet.
The top three is Norris, Verstappen and Russell.
| 2025 F1 Bahrain Pre-Season Testing - Day One (4pm) | |||||
| Pos | Driver | Nat. | Team | Time | Laps |
| 1 | Lando Norris | GBR | McLaren F1 Team | 1m30.430s | 34 |
| 2 | Charles Leclerc | MON | Scuderia Ferrari HP | 1m30.878s | 53 |
| 3 | George Russell | GBR | Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team | 1m31.071s | 37 |
| 4 | Max Verstappen | NED | Oracle Red Bull Racing | 1n31.299s | 46 |
| 5 | Carlos Sainz | ESP | Atlassian Williams Racing | 1m31.338s | 45 |
| 6 | Pierre Gasly | FRA | BWT Alpine F1 Team | 1m31.353s | 51 |
| 7 | Andrea Kimi Antonelli | ITA | Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team | 1m31.428s | 78 |
| 8 | Liam Lawson | NZL | Oracle Red Bull Racing | 1m31.560s | 58 |
| 9 | Alex Albon | THA | Atlassian Williams Racing | 1m31.573s | 63 |
| 10 | Yuki Tsunoda | JPN | Visa Cash App Racing Bulls F1 Team | 1m31.610s | 78 |
| 11 | Isack Hadjar | FRA | Visa Cash App Racing Bulls F1 Team | 1m31.747s | 53 |
| 12 | Lewis Hamilton | GBR | Scuderia Ferrari HP | 1m31.834s | 70 |
| 13 | Jack Doohan | AUS | BWT Alpine F1 Team | 1m31.841s | 68 |
| 14 | Fernando Alonso | ESP | Aston Martin Aramco F1 Team | 1m31.874s | 46 |
| 15 | Oscar Piastri | AUS | McLaren F1 Team | 1m32.084s | 65 |
| 16 | Nico Hulkenberg | GER | Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber | 1m32.169s | 55 |
| 17 | Lance Stroll | CAN | Aston Martin Aramco F1 Team | 1m32.332s | 21 |
| 18 | Gabriel Bortoleto | BRA | Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber | 1m32.705s | 38 |
| 19 | Esteban Ocon | FRA | MoneyGram Haas F1 Team | 1m33.600s | 61 |
| 20 | Oliver Bearman | GBR | MoneyGram Haas F1 Team | 1m35.522s | 72 |
The rain is holding off for now, but the teams certainly won't want any serious rain to fall over the coming days, which would disrupt running in Bahrain.
Haas and Williams are the only two teams to bring any wet-weather tyres to pre-season testing...
Your top 3 drivers with 70 minutes to go...
— Formula 1 (@F1) February 26, 2025
1⃣ Norris
2⃣ Leclerc
3⃣ Russell#F1Testing#F1pic.twitter.com/ghAV4Oo4i0
Norris, who had a quiet start to the afternoon, has just vaulted to the top of the timesheet.
The McLaren driver posts a 1m30.430s to pull over four tenths clear of Leclerc's Ferrari. A great lap that.
F1 and the FIA feeling has confirmed that the first day of pre-season testing has been extended by an hour, meaning it will now run until 5pm UK time.
"Following the power outage during Bahrain Pre-Season Testing, the FIA, Formula 1, and the teams have agreed to extend this afternoon's session by one hour to compensate for the time lost under the red flag. The session will now conclude at 20:00 local time," a joint statement read.
Bit of an off for Sainz, who locks under braking at Turn 1 and runs wide in his Williams. Plenty of run-off down there, so drama avoided.
After over an hour of delays, full power has been restored around the circuit and we are back underway with 50 minutes left on the clock.
It has now started to rain at Sakhir! Light rain drops are falling around the circuit as we remain under a red flag with just over 50 minutes remaining.
| 2025 F1 Bahrain Pre-Season Testing - Day One | |||||
| Pos | Driver | Nat. | Team | Time | Laps |
| 1 | Charles Leclerc | MON | Scuderia Ferrari HP | 1m30.878s | 32 |
| 2 | George Russell | GBR | Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team | 1m31.082s | 20 |
| 3 | Lando Norris | GBR | McLaren F1 Team | 1m31.251s | 12 |
| 4 | Pierre Gasly | FRA | BWT Alpine F1 Team | 1m31.353s | 26 |
| 5 | Andrea Kimi Antonelli | ITA | Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team | 1m31.428s | 78 |
| 6 | Max Verstappen | NED | Oracle Red Bull Racing | 1n31.444s | 31 |
| 7 | Liam Lawson | NZL | Oracle Red Bull Racing | 1m31.560s | 58 |
| 8 | Alex Albon | THA | Atlassian Williams Racing | 1m31.573s | 63 |
| 9 | Yuki Tsunoda | JPN | Visa Cash App Racing Bulls F1 Team | 1m31.610s | 78 |
| 10 | Carlos Sainz | ESP | Atlassian Williams Racing | 1m31.821s | 25 |
| 11 | Lewis Hamilton | GBR | Scuderia Ferrari HP | 1m31.834s | 70 |
| 12 | Jack Doohan | AUS | BWT Alpine F1 Team | 1m31.841s | 68 |
| 13 | Fernando Alonso | ESP | Aston Martin Aramco F1 Team | 1m31.874s | 46 |
| 14 | Oscar Piastri | AUS | McLaren F1 Team | 1m32.084s | 65 |
| 15 | Nico Hulkenberg | GER | Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber | 1m32.169s | 55 |
| 16 | Lance Stroll | CAN | Aston Martin Aramco F1 Team | 1m32.332s | 21 |
| 17 | Isack Hadjar | FRA | Visa Cash App Racing Bulls F1 Team | 1m32.389s | 34 |
| 18 | Esteban Ocon | FRA | MoneyGram Haas F1 Team | 1m34.323s | 36 |
| 19 | Oliver Bearman | GBR | MoneyGram Haas F1 Team | 1m35.522s | 72 |
| 20 | Gabriel Bortoleto | BRA | Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber | No time set | 17 |
We are expected to get back underway shortly, according to the FIA.
"The power, electronic systems and lights around the circuit are slowly coming back to normal, we expect to restart the session shortly," an FIA spokesperson said.
Currently under red flag just over halfway through the afternoon session 🔴#F1Testing#F1pic.twitter.com/cwd1VrjHrD
— Formula 1 (@F1) February 26, 2025
We have lights! #F1#F1Testingpic.twitter.com/gLeoSJWIht
— Chris Medland (@ChrisMedlandF1) February 26, 2025
Some good news at least, as power appears to have been restored to the F1 team garages.
However, some of the floodlights around the track have not yet come back on. Only a handful are currently illuminated. The paddock lighting is back on, though.
Hopefully we will be able to get back to running shortly. 1 hour and 20 minutes are left on the clock for today.
