Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari had been inevitably the focus on the primary morning of F1 testing in Bahrain. The seven-time world champion accomplished 70 laps of the Sakhir circuit, setting his finest time at 1:31.834. Apparently, that put him four-tenths behind his successor at Mercedes, Andrea Kimi Antonelli. Occasions and rankings within the first 4 hours of the brand new season imply little to nothing, however they do present the Scuderia bettering by a second and a half in comparison with the 1:33.247 lap recorded by Charles Leclerc in final 12 months’s morning session of the primary day of winter testing.
Hamilton’s work on the primary day of testing
No matter efficiency—since, as talked about, it doesn’t inform us a lot—and even contemplating that the improved occasions are partly resulting from considerably cooler observe and ambient temperatures, it’s nonetheless attention-grabbing to investigate the work carried out by Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari on their F1 testing debut in Bahrain. The British champion adopted a reasonably commonplace program, initially specializing in quick runs of three or 4 laps earlier than transferring on to mini lengthy runs of round ten laps. Pending official statements, this isn’t an uncommon method for the primary day of testing, with mechanics and engineers seemingly prioritizing aerodynamic mapping of the SF-25, learning its conduct beneath various trip heights and gas masses.
A lot of the work was carried out on Medium C3 tires (marked by yellow Pirelli lettering however with out a sideband), aside from Sir Lewis’s first run within the morning, which was on Exhausting C2 tires (recognized by white lettering and a sideband). His finest time was set utilizing the fourth of seven new tire units—the third C3 compound—instantly on the primary timed lap. Hamilton then tried a second quick lap after a cooldown lap however aborted it and returned to the pits.
Τα stints που πραγματοποίησε ο Lewis Hamilton στο πρωινό σκέλος των δοκιμών. #F1GR
Lewis Hamilton’s stints from the morning session. #F1Testing #Day1 #AM @ScuderiaFerrari pic.twitter.com/SbRvfNXixV
— F1 Debrief (@f1debrief) February 26, 2025
Because of the always-precise knowledge from the Twitter profile @F1Debrief, we will see that within the latter a part of the morning, Hamilton and Ferrari switched to operating with larger gas masses and stints of 9 or ten laps. The 40-year-old used three new units of Pirelli C3s, finishing 10, 10, and 9 laps respectively at Sakhir, along with his finest time of 1:36.278 approaching the fourth lap of the primary of those units.
It’s, in fact, inconceivable to guage efficiency and the character of the work carried out, however it’s plain that the Ferrari seen on the morning of day one in Bahrain appeared considerably nervous. This led to Hamilton experiencing just a few lock-ups and a number of other corrections resulting from a fairly “vigorous” rear finish on nook exits. However there’s nonetheless loads of time earlier than drawing any agency conclusions…
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