Following the unveiling of official liveries at the F1 75 season launch event in London on February 18, several teams have put their 2025 challengers through a shakedown run at the Bahrain International Circuit.
Making use of the permitted mileage of 200 kilometres over the course of two filming days, Alpine, Haas, Aston Martin, Mercedes, and Red Bull have recently conducted on-track running with their 2025 F1 cars before pre-season testing commences at the same venue from tomorrow.
Alpine F1 team conducts shakedown in Bahrain
After Alpine revealed their latest blue-and-pink livery at the F1 75 launch event in London, their 2025 challenger broke cover on Monday with both Pierre Gasly and Jack Doohan getting a taste of the A525 for the first time. The day was evenly split between the drivers as each covered 100 kilometres with demonstration tyres at the Bahrain International Circuit.
“It is a great feeling to be back on track and driving the A525 for the first time,” said Gasly.
“It is only a shakedown, limited running, so it’s not like we are driving the car at its full potential but the initial feeling felt smooth and I am just looking forward to getting going and having a proper run later this week for official pre-season testing.”
Alpine’s newest recruit Doohan commented, “We have had a good first day on-track here in Bahrain and I am sure everyone at the team feels really excited to be back and ready now to start the season.”
“I know Pierre and I are really excited for Wednesday and beginning pre-season testing. It will be three busy days where we have many things to run through in order to develop the A525 ahead of the season start.”
Team principal Oliver Oakes said, “There are certainly multiple areas of interest for us to keep learning and progressing and we look forward to continuing the hard work beginning on Wednesday with Jack driving the morning and Pierre the afternoon.”
Haas complete their second filming day with Bearman
Utilising their second filming day of the year, Haas ran Ollie Bearman in Bahrain on Monday after Esteban Ocon drove the VF-25 for the first time during a shakedown at Silverstone earlier this month.
Unlike several other teams, the Banbury-based squad opted to complete its filming days at different circuits on two separate days. Team boss Ayao Komatsu had previously revealed that Ocon was allowed to keep the VF-25 to himself throughout the duration of their first filming day because they were simply more confident with Bearman’s installation.
The 19-year-old Brit, who made super-sub appearances for Haas on two occasions last season, will kick off Haas’s test tomorrow morning while Ocon will get behind the wheel of the VF-25 in the afternoon.
Aston Martin’s AMR25 breaks cover in Bahrain
After the digital reveal of their 2025 F1 car on February 23, Aston Martin completed their maiden run with the AMR25 during a shakedown in Bahrain on Monday.
Lance Stroll, who heads into his fifth season with the team since it rebranded from Racing Point in 2021, was the first to drive the AMR25 before handing over to two-time world champion Fernando Alonso.
CEO and Team Principal Andy Cowell has remarked that the AMR25 boasts a benign character after both drivers found its predecessor extremely challenging to drive last season.
“For this year’s car we’ve really taken on board the lessons and feedback from last season. We’ve focused on creating a more driveable car for Lance and Fernando and we’ve pushed hard to make it more benign.”
“Our aims are realistic with a view to how we can continually improve in all areas, especially as we, like all teams, approach a vital shake-up of the regulations in 2026.”
Characteristics of the AMR25
More than 90 per cent of the AMR25’s aerodynamic surfaces differ from its predecessor’s, with changes to the front and rear wings, sidepods, engine cover, and floor leading to a more compliant and refined race car.
The front wing of the AMR25 is a significant evolution of the front wing the team introduced towards the end of last year. The changes focus on improving low-speed downforce, the balance of the car, and giving the drivers more stability through all the phases of cornering.
The reprofiled sidepods represent the most striking change visually compared to that of the AMR24. Deeply undercut, they feature a swooping channel along the length of the upper surface to better guide airflow.
While a tightly packaged radiator layout seeks to accommodate the new sidepod design, the engine cover features a jagged, razor-sharp spine running from the airbox towards the rear wing to direct airflow to the rear of the car.
The team has revised the design of the floor to improve airflow underneath the car. The new sidepod and bodywork design complement this, allowing better airflow management under the car and over the rear wing.
The AMR25 features a push-rod suspension layout at both the front and rear; the wheel assembly is joined to the chassis by a diagonal structure with a higher point on the car’s body.
New brake ducts at both the front and rear of the car are designed to improve brake cooling and airflow management. Brake ducts funnel air into and out of the brake assembly; on the AMR25, this consists of Brembo brake calipers and Carbon Industrie carbon fibre discs and pads.
A stable rear also improves corner turn-in by limiting sliding; Aston Martin have designed the AMR25’s rear wing designed with this in mind.
W16 makes on-track debut ahead of pre-season testing
Deviating from their usual pre-season tradition of unveiling their new F1 challenger at Silverstone, Mercedes held an online launch event for the W16 on February 24 and conducted their first shakedown in Bahrain on Tuesday. Both George Russell and his new teammate Kimi Antonelli sampled the new machinery in the shakedown restricted to a maximum of 200 kilometres.
Russell has previously stated that the W16 has undergone “a significant change” in comparison to its predecessor and that the team is intent on avoiding the “traps” it has in previous seasons. Furthermore, the 27-year-old confessed that he was eager to see how the actual machinery compares to the simulator model he has used.
“Flown by, it’s absolutely flown by,” Russell said.
“It feels like yesterday we were here last year for testing. Just can’t wait to get out there. So much hard work has gone in over the winter.
“I’ve driven the car so many times in the sim and today’s only the filming day, but tomorrow and in the next three days we’re gonna find out how that car’s performing.”
Meanwhile, Antonelli, the successor to seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton, expressed his anticipation as he embarks upon his rookie F1 campaign.
“We’re back, finally, officially testing.
“Well, today’s filming day, but finally getting the first few laps with the new car.
“Really excited. I’ve been waiting for this moment for so long. I’m really happy; [I] couldn’t be happier, to be honest.”
Red Bull’s 2025 F1 car hits the track for the first time in Bahrain
Red Bull have conducted their F1 shakedown one day before pre-season testing kicks off in Bahrain. After Max Verstappen logged his first miles in the RB21, their first F1 car designed without Adrian Newey’s input since the RB3 back in 2007, Liam Lawson completed their filming day programme later in the day.
Although Red Bull started their 2024 campaign in a dominant fashion and Verstappen managed to defend his crown from McLaren’s Lando Norris, their third-place finish in the constructors’ championship is indicative of the performance drop-off they experienced as the season progressed.
Ahead of the final year of F1’s current ground effect era, the reigning world champion, however, sounded confident that the Milton Keynes outfit has made the right changes to the car as he seeks to equal Michael Schumacher’s record of five consecutive titles in 2025.
“The development direction we chose at the time showed a lot of promise, but unfortunately it didn’t work like that on track so we had to change a few things,” said the Dutchman.
“Now let’s hope that is the right direction. We are confident it is the right direction but let’s see how much we can extract out of it for this final season with this car.”
After driving the RB21 for the first time, the team quoted Verstappen saying in a statement: “I got a few laps in, but today was more about getting comfortable in the car, seeing what fits and we will then learn more about the car over the next few days.
“We know what last year’s limitations were, so it is important that we assess the pace over the next few days and see if we have improved.”
