Formula 1 in Focus: McLaren sets standard at winter testing

After three intensive days of winter testing in Bahrain, I was fortunate enough to spend most of that trackside photographing the latest F1 cars. A pecking order for the 2025 season is beginning to take shape. Despite Carlos Sainz in his Williams surprising everyone to record the fastest lap time, a deeper analysis of each team’s running over the test shows a different picture.

McLaren emerged as the stand-out team, with both Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri demonstrating exceptional pace, particularly during long runs. Norris looked visibly faster than rivals during race simulations on day two, with the team notably downplaying their results – a classic move from a confident frontrunner.

Ferrari and Mercedes appear evenly matched as the next fastest teams, though the unusually cold conditions in Bahrain may have masked Ferrari’s true potential. Uncharacteristically, defending champions Red Bull seem to have slipped to fourth in the hierarchy, hampered by mechanical issues that limited their running to just 304 laps – the fewest of any team. While trying to photograph all the cars from a specific spot, I had to wait over an hour for Max Verstappen to make an appearance on Friday. Neither driver managed to complete a full race simulation, and while Verstappen set a quick time on the final day, I also saw him spinning in the same session. Showing the car isn’t completely where he wants it to be.

Alpine and Williams contested for the best of the rest, with both teams showing promising pace. Aston Martin appears to have fallen behind these two, while Haas focused primarily on long-run testing, making their true position difficult to gauge. Sauber remains the likely backmarker, though the gap to the midfield has narrowed compared to last season.

With each new year, each team unveils their new colour scheme for the season. The Alpine’s bold pink and blue look grew on me over the course of the three days, and by the end, it was my favourite. It didn’t look that good during the launch event in London, but on track, it is a very powerful design.

The Racing Bulls new predominantly white livery is the other stand-out design. Traditional favourites like Red Bull and Mercedes maintained their strong visual identity, while Williams and Sauber both disappointed. I found it hard to tell the difference between the Williams and Aston Martin at times.

The 2025 season brings significant driver changes, headlined by Hamilton’s move to Ferrari. He reunited with his long-time trainer, Angela Cullen. Sainz has transitioned smoothly to Williams, and Esteban Ocon and Nico Hulkenberg have moved to Haas and Stake, respectively.

2025 sees six rookies take the wheel – the most in F1 for years. All six performed admirably, with Andrea Kimi Antonelli particularly impressing at Mercedes. Jack Doohan, Liam Lawson, Isack Hadjar, Ollie Bearman, and Gabriel Bortoleto all looked composed and confident, injecting fresh energy into the grid.

The test itself was notable for its unexpected cold conditions and rain showers; it felt closer to the conditions we had in Las Vegas than what is typical in Bahrain. Remarkably, there was not a single red flag for a mechanical issue over the three days – possibly a first in F1 testing history.

As teams head to Australia for the season opener, the competitive order appears much tighter than in recent years. McLaren enters as the favourite, but with smaller performance gaps throughout the field, the 2025 season promises to deliver exceptional racing and potentially a genuine multi-team championship battle.

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