Under clear skies in Bahrain, the final day of 2025 F1 Testing got underway with improved conditions compared to yesterday’s rain. The morning session saw Charles Leclerc set the early pace with a 1:30.811s benchmark that remained unbeaten. He led Mercedes rookie Kimi Antonelli by just 0.077s and McLaren’s Lando Norris in third. Numerous off-track moments were caused by the challenging wind conditions at Turns 4 and 13.
There were minor incidents, including part of Oliver Bearman’s Haas engine cover detaching and a brief red flag for debris on the pit straight. With Lance Stroll absent due to illness, Fernando Alonso stepped in despite encountering persistent cooling issues with his Aston Martin AMR25. Teams primarily focused on race simulations, with Isack Hadjar completing the most laps (73) ahead of Leclerc (66) and Antonelli (61) before the session concluded with safety car procedure tests.
First hour
Esteban Ocon wasted no time getting on track for Haas while other teams were still completing their driver changeovers. The Frenchman, was one of the first to venture out. However, just eight minutes into the afternoon session, the red flags were out. The session put to a temporary halt.
Once the session resumed, Lewis Hamilton emerged in his Ferrari. While teams had access to Pirelli’s full tyre range, there was a noticeable shift toward softer compounds today. Many drivers opted for the C3 tyre instead of the harder C1 and C2 compounds that dominated the first two days. The windy conditions continued to pose challenges, with several drivers, including Pierre Gasly, momentarily dipping their wheels into the gravel.
Alpine appears to have made significant progress compared to last year’s F1 test. They arrived with a car that’s no longer overweight and having accumulated a respectable 259 laps across the first two days. With that, Gasly topped the timesheets with a 1:30.657s during what appeared to be a qualifying simulation run. Later improving to 1:30.282s while still using the C3 compound.
As the first hour of the afternoon session concluded, George Russell claimed the fastest time with a 1:30.054s. McLaren’s Oscar Piastri finally joined the action, the Australian beginning preparations for his home race with just over three hours of testing remaining.
Second hour
The sun began to set over Bahrain and attention turned to Max Verstappen’s relatively low lap count of just 47. This contrasted sharply with Russell’s 21 laps accumulated in just an hour, though Red Bull’s extensive setup changes explained some of Verstappen’s limited running.
Pierre Gasly continued to show impressive pace, reclaiming the top spot on the timing screens by a mere 0.014 seconds. Hamilton, sitting third in the standings, had just returned to the pits after setting a personal best first sector when Verstappen finally emerged from the garage to resume his testing program.
Meanwhile, Piastri was focused on race simulation work, completing a longer stint with a heavy fuel load on the C3 compound tire. The Australian had accumulated 29 laps during this run, though track conditions weren’t quite as favourable as the previous day. The higher temperatures were causing increased tire degradation, making direct comparisons with his teammate’s race simulation from yesterday difficult.
Third hour
As the third hour began, Verstappen completed shorter runs and moved to third, sitting one tenth behind his former teammate Gasly. He then seized the top spot with a 1:29.844s lap on medium tires, almost two-tenths faster than Gasly, before immediately returning to the pits.
Verstappen maintained his lead ahead of Gasly and Russell, all having run with relatively low fuel loads. Hamilton held fourth place despite using the softer C4 compound, though he appeared to push less aggressively than his competitors. Piastri impressed in P6, setting his time on the harder C2 tire.
The session intensified when Piastri attempted to overtake Ocon. The Frenchman defended vigorously, bringing the two cars dangerously close to contact in a surprisingly competitive moment for F1 testing. Meanwhile, Albon ran straight on at Turn 1 before immediately heading back to the pits.
Aston Martin’s plans continued to unravel for Stroll. After missing the morning session due to illness with Alonso substituting, Stroll managed a brief afternoon stint before the team prepared for another driver change. Alonso stood ready in his race suit with helmet on as the crew rushed to prepare the car. The Canadian’s testing misfortunes persisted as the team worked quickly to get Alonso back in the cockpit.
Fourth hour
With just over an hour remaining, Verstappen held his position at the top of the leaderboard, though he had completed only 65 laps despite driving all day. Albon, the other full-day driver, had amassed 111 laps and continued to add to his impressive tally.
Driver swap
Aston Martin swiftly changed seats and sent Alonso out on fresh hard tyres for what looked like a race simulation, replacing an unwell Stroll. Albon fitted fresh C4 tyres and grabbed the top spot, lapping one and a half tenths quicker than his former teammate. Williams demonstrated exceptional reliability, with Albon reaching 115 laps while Sauber and Haas lost running time to technical issues.
Verstappen reclaimed the top position shortly after, setting a time 0.084s ahead of Albon on the C3 compound—noteworthy considering Albon used the softer C4. A brief moment of confusion saw Verstappen nearly enter the McLaren pit box before correcting his mistake, an understandable error given Red Bull’s previous position in the championship-ordered pit lane.
The final hour featured Piastri as he jumped to third position, though still 0.374s behind Verstappen. Ocon spun his Haas, damaging his tyres but still managing to complete 87 laps in just the afternoon session. Albon locked up dramatically, flat-spotting his front tyres despite the track offering the most grip it had all week. Even Verstappen wasn’t immune to errors, spinning at the same location as Ocon.
In the final fifteen minutes, Piastri’s lap count reached an impressive 81 as he maintained third position despite running wide through the final corner. With just six minutes remaining, Russell delivered a stunning 1:29.545s lap on C3 tyres, claiming top spot by just 0.021s over Verstappen. Ocon finished with a remarkable 100 laps in a single session, contrasting with Hamilton’s 47 before concluding his day early.
As the chequered flag waved on the final day of the 2025 F1 Testing in Bahrain, Russell topped the leaderboard, followed by Verstappen just 0.021s behind and Albon 0.105s adrift in third position.
