The new F1 rookies arriving into the sport in 2025 have been sharing their thoughts after completing the opening day of pre-season testing in Bahrain, with the debutants getting their first extended mileage in their new machines.
As each team split running between their drivers for the morning and afternoon sessions on Wednesday, Kimi Antonelli was amongst those to hit the Bahrain International Circuit during the opening segment.
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The Mercedes driver went on to set the fastest time of the morning’s test and later spoke positively about the experience of getting behind the wheel of the W16.
“That’s the first morning in the car done and it was a good session,” said Antonelli. “I really enjoyed getting behind the wheel of the W16 and working through our programme. It was nice to start to build my feeling with the car and get some laps under our belt.
“We completed our programme but there is a lot more work to get through over the next two days so I can’t wait to get back on track tomorrow.”
Antonelli worked alongside his new Mercedes race engineer Pete Bonnington during the first day of pre-season testing
Antonelli was joined in the morning session by his former F2 team mate Ollie Bearman, with the Briton preparing for his first full-time season at Haas following his super-sub appearances in 2024.
After the American outfit embarked on a slightly different programme to some of their rivals, Bearman ended the day at the bottom of the classification but hailed the squad for achieving what they set out to.
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“That’s day one in Bahrain completed and I’m very happy to be back with the team and back in the car,” Bearman reflected. “It’s my first time on track in Bahrain and it’s a new beast in Formula 1, so it’s very nice.
“We got through the entire run plan as we wanted to, and the results were as expected – as we’ve been learning about the car and its characteristics. I’m now looking forward to testing the limits over the next two days.”
Bearman was back in action for Haas
Over at Alpine, Jack Doohan was also in action during Wednesday morning. The Australian completed 68 laps and said later on: “After Monday’s shakedown, it’s really good to be on track again and having a full morning’s running in the A525.
“I enjoyed being in the car and really having a good feel for everything across various set-ups and compounds. A massive thank you to the whole team at Enstone and Viry for their work over the winter and having the car ready and prepared for this test.
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“I’ll be supporting the team and watching closely in the morning before I am back in the car tomorrow afternoon looking to continue working through the programme.”
Doohan got behind the wheel of the A525 in Bahrain
For the afternoon session – which was extended by an hour to make up for time lost when the session was earlier red flagged due to a power cut at the circuit – Gabriel Bortoleto was in action for Kick Sauber.
The F2 champion ended the day in 12th on the timesheets and reflected: “My first official day with the C45 has been quite an interesting experience. We focused on some aero runs throughout the session, testing different aspects and getting some useful mileage.
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“Towards the end, we had some fresh sets of tyres to push a little and have some fun. Overall, I’m quite happy with what we achieved today. After the first day, there is always a lot to learn and improve. It’s just the beginning, and I am eager to be back in the car tomorrow.”
Bortoleto headed out under the floodlights during the afternoon session of Day 1
Racing Bulls’ Isack Hadjar also hit the track in the afternoon and, despite an early spin, the Frenchman shared positive words about his experience after the session.
“It was fun! We got through our programme and I felt comfortable in the car,” Hadjar said. “Of course, this is just the start so there is plenty to do, I would say particularly on the short runs.
“For a first official test day for me, I think it went fine and I adapted quickly, so I’d say it was a good first day.”
The rookies – along with the rest of the field – will return to action for Day 2 on Thursday, with the morning session kicking off at 1000 local time in Bahrain.
Hadjar gained valuable mileage in the Racing Bulls machine as pre-season testing got underway
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