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McLaren Takes Lead in 2025 F1 Pre-Season Testing: An In-depth Analysis

Carl Harrison by Carl Harrison
February 28, 2025
in Motorsports
Reading Time: 2 mins read
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McLaren Takes Lead in 2025 F1 Pre-Season Testing: An In-depth Analysis

Formula One F1 - Pre-Season testing - Bahrain International Circuit, Sakhir, Bahrain - February 27, 2025 McLaren's Lando Norris during testing REUTERS/Jakub Porzycki

As the second day of the 2025 Formula 1 pre-season testing came to a close on the frosty, occasionally damp track of Bahrain, a clearer picture of the forthcoming season’s competition emerged. Notably, Red Bull saw their training session cut short due to a water pressure issue hindering Liam Lawson, with star racer Max Verstappen absent from the car. However, the real story lies in the impressive race simulation performances by McLaren, Ferrari, and Mercedes, hinting at a potential frontrunner for the season.

The afternoon saw these three giants of the racing world go head-to-head in a race simulation, offering a valuable opportunity for a nearly direct comparison. The numbers arising from this simulated contest bear a striking resemblance to the previous day’s session, which saw Lando Norris of McLaren emerge in the lead. In this instance, McLaren again demonstrated a marginal, yet noteworthy upper hand over Ferrari and Mercedes.

The two-stop simulation runs played out as follows: Norris completed his first stint with 17 laps on C3 tyres, Charles Leclerc of Ferrari ran 15 laps on the same, and Kimi Antonelli of Mercedes managed 19 laps. The second stint saw Norris and Leclerc both complete 16 laps on C2 tyres, with Antonelli falling slightly behind at 13 laps. The final stint witnessed Norris complete 18 laps on C1 tyres, Leclerc achieve 20 laps on C2 tyres, and Antonelli finish with 19 laps on C2 tyres.

When it came to average lap times over each stint, McLaren was in the lead, showcasing consistent performance with an average time of 1m 35.5s in the first and second stints, and an impressive 1m 33.0s in the final stint. Ferrari and Mercedes trailed slightly behind, with Ferrari’s average times being 1m 35.9s, 1m 34.8s, and 1m 34.2s, and Mercedes’ times being 1m 35.9s, 1m 34.7s, and 1m 34.0s.

Projecting these results onto a hypothetical 51-lap race, McLaren would come out on top, finishing 12 seconds faster than Ferrari and a further 2 seconds quicker than Mercedes. However, drawing definitive conclusions at this stage could be premature. It’s worth noting that McLaren opted for a harder tyre in the final stint, which may have given Norris an edge over Leclerc and Antonelli during the closing stages.

The absence of a Red Bull comparison further complicates the analysis. Yet, the fact that McLaren refrained from chasing single lap headline times and focused more on spec and set-up experiments, indicates a strong confidence in their car’s performance.

In addition to their long run times, Norris’ seemingly effortless setting of the fastest middle sector time, even while conducting pitstop practice, suggests a potential McLaren advantage.

In an interesting turn of events, Williams emerged as the first team to undertake serious performance running with fuel and power unit settings, aimed at providing Carlos Sainz, who won’t be driving the car until Melbourne, a better understanding of the FW47. Sainz managed to set the fastest single lap of the test, surpassing the Ferrari times set by Lewis Hamilton and Leclerc.

While Williams did not run a race simulation similar to McLaren, Ferrari, and Mercedes, their series of eight and ten lap runs positions them as the best prepared and fastest of the teams outside the top four, with Alpine close behind.

As other teams are still in various stages of preparation, we can anticipate a clearer picture to emerge in the coming days.

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