Welcome to the Bahrain Grand Prix
McLaren believes Verstappen is making the difference
McLaren team principal Andrea Stella has admitted Max Verstappen is “making the difference” in the early rounds of the 2025 F1 season to keep up with Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri. Last weekend Verstappen’s first win of the season allowed him to close the championship lead of Norris to just a point.
The British team have had the car to beat so far but Piastri’s spin in Australia and Norris’ difficult Sprint in China, coupled with Verstappen maximising his results, means the championship battle remains at least a three-way fight. The only other driver to win a race, the Sprint in China, was Ferrari and Lewis Hamilton.
Stella told Sky Sports, “We treat Max and Red Bull like the others until we have established [a pecking order] a little bit. Hamilton won the Sprint in China, Russell was competitive in the race in China, in Suzuka we had Red Bull and Max. We are still in a transient phase, we will have to see how things settle down.”
“The most important condition to pursue both championships is having the best car. It’s important that when we are not in condition to win, we keep racing in a robust way.” He says that it would be difficult to keep up across the twenty-four races if you don’t have the best car.
Norris questioned McLaren’s strategy when he followed Verstappen for all fifty-three laps of Sunday’s Japanese Grand Prix, including in the pit stops as he stopped at the same time.
McLaren will be seen as favourites going into this weekend because in testing though they didn’t set the outright pace, they did look strong on the straights and in the corners. Even if they don’t take pole overtaking is significantly easier than in Suzuka with their advantage on race pace.
The team appears to have concluded that they have “a lot of work to clear” rivals before Norris and Piastri can only each other for the title and Verstappen’s performance in Suzuka “reinforced” the message of working well together.
Adding “We know that to beat Max and Red Bull we need to operate at the highest standard, but also we need to operate consistently. If you don’t win and you are P2-P3, it’s still a robust way of going racing and I think this will pay off at the end of the season.”
Verstappen plays down expectations this weekend
Max Verstappen has played down expectations going into this weekend’s Bahrain Grand Prix, following his win last weekend. While the Dutchman described the win in Suzuka as a “good boost for the team,” the upcoming race will be “tough.”
Verstappen commented in the Red Bull race preview, “To win in Japan was an amazing moment for the Team and a perfect send-off for Honda, who we have had such a great relationship and a lot of success with over the years. It is amazing to have four wins in a row there and was a great start to the triple header. It was a good boost for the Team and now we can hopefully go into this week with a bit more confidence.”
Adding, “Bahrain is typically somewhere where we have gone well; the track is very technical and, of course, it is under night race conditions which is a bit different. It is going to be hot and think it will be tough race for us.”
Though it won last weekend, Red Bull has generally seems to have struggled with it seeming to be a continuation of the end of last season with the team struggling to get the most out of the tyres and are lacking a bit of pace needed to push the car to the limit.
Verstappen’s win in Japan has closed the gap between him and current drivers’ championship leader Lando Norris to just one point. The Norris has sixty-two points in the first three race weekends of the year, and Verstappen has sixty-one points.
FIA deputy president resigns over standards
The FIA’s deputy president for sport Robert Reid has become the latest departure from the governing body, resigning over what he describes as “a fundamental breakdown in governance standards within motorsport’s global governing body”.
The Scot was a key member of FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem’s leadership team when the Emirati was elected in 2021 but the pair have since fallen out amid a series of controversies surrounding the FIA president. Reid said in a statement, that he was experiencing “growing alarm over critical decisions being made without due process or proper consultation. When I took on this role, it was to serve the FIA’s members, not to serve power.”
“Over time, I have witnessed a steady erosion of the principles we promised to uphold. Decisions are being made behind closed doors, bypassing the very structures and people the FIA exists to present.” The departure follows a raft of changes approved at the General Assembly at the end of last year which critics have described as “a worrisome concentration of power” and a reduction in accountability.
Reid’s move also comes after MotorsportUK chairman David Richards wrote an open letter to the organisation’s members accusing the FIA of a “shift of moral compass”.
GPDA director George Russell added there had been a “breakdown of governance standards.” He added that the FIA was “continuously going in an unstable direction”, and that concerns raised by drivers were falling on deaf ears.
He told reporters in Bahrain, “Every time we hear news from that side of the sport it’s not really a big surprise. It’s a shame to see… for somebody who’s very well respected within the sport and has been there for so long. Hopefully, we get more stability sooner than later.”
No change in Ferrari’s approach
Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur has insisted his team won’t change their approach despite a disappointing opening three rounds of the season. Charles Leclerc’s fourth and Lewis Hamilton’s seventh in Japan marked Ferrari’s best Sunday of 2025 so far but leaves them seventy-six points behind McLaren in the Constructors’ Championship.
But the team lost a haul of points when both cars were disqualified in China for technical infringements, as a result, it appears that they have been forced Ferrari to run their car higher than wanted, thus hurting performance.
Leclerc feels he “maximised” his race weekend at the Japanese Grand Prix by starting and finishing fourth but says it’s “not great” to still be sixteen seconds behind race-winner Max Verstappen.
Vasseur told Sky Sports “The last two years we started like this. But we don’t have to change the approach. One year ago we were almost in the same situation, perhaps a bit worse in terms of pace, and the reaction of the team was very, very strong. We worked as a team, we made small steps by small steps and we have to keep exactly the same approach this season. For sure it’s not ideal and I would prefer to win the first two or first three races.”
Vasseur also referred to Ferrari being off the pace a year ago before coming back to win five races and missing out on the constructors’ title by just fourteen points. But there was no “magic bullet” and multiple areas need improving as they are six-tenths off, as well as better extracting the potential of the car.
Hamilton says Ferrari need to improve “everywhere” but is optimistic about a more competitive weekend in Bahrain, where the slower speed corners and long straights should suit their car.
Hamilton has “exceeded expectations” at Ferrari
Former W Series champion and broadcaster Jamie Chadwick believes Lewis Hamilton has “exceeded expectations” at Ferrari but will struggle to “make a dent” at this weekend’s Bahrain Grand Prix. Hamilton’s best finish in a Grand Prix this season seventh last weekend in Suzuka but he was disqualified from sixth in Shanghai where he took his first Ferrari and sprint win.
Following last weekend’s race, Ferrari says it believes it has pinpointed an underperforming issue on his car that he hopes can lead to an improvement. Chadwick told Sky Sports, “I think it’s exceeded expectations in some ways. What we saw in China was definitely a big step in just two races to be performing like that. There’s so much new to him in this car.”
“He’s talked about there potentially being a bit of an existing issue that’s been there in the last few races that’s kind of hindered performance a little bit. [Bahrain] is a track he knows very well in that Ferrari from testing, so hopefully that gives them a bit of a better window to perform. But arguably, with the pace of the McLaren, it’s going to be hard for them to really make a dent.”
McLaren won the first two Grands Prix of the season, with championship leader Lando Norris triumphing in Melbourne before Oscar Piastri secured victory in China. The consensus appears to be that McLaren should be strong as Sakhir suits them, despite being owned by Bahraini investors and the circuit being on the calendar for two decades they have never won a race.
But pre-season testing, the conditions were quite different to what I think it’s going to be this weekend in much hotter conditions. McLaren tend to be better in warmer conditions and as we know seven weeks ago conditions were cooler than normal.
News in Brief
Vesti in for FP1
Mercedes have confirmed that Fred Vesti will drive in practice one on Friday at the Bahrain Grand Prix. Vesti will replace George for the session in Sakhir in his third rookie session, having previously driven for the team in FP1 in Mexico and Abu Dhabi in 2023.
“Contributing to our weekend will be our Reserve Driver, Fred Vesti. He will jump in George’s car for FP1, fulfilling the first of two rookie sessions we need to run this year,” Mercedes Team Principal Toto Wolff said.
Ryo Hirakawa will also take part in his first of four outings for Haas.
Antonelli has details difficulties between F1 and school
Kimi Antonelli has detailed the challenge he is currently facing in trying to balance his F1 career alongside completing his school work and his final exams. He told Fast and The Curious podcast, “have final exams, so I’m trying at the moment to fit [in] a date where I can do it, which is pretty difficult at the moment.”
“I’m getting a lot of help from school, I’m not going to lie – they’re sending me stuff over, but it’s a big commitment. To be honest, I always say I don’t really want to do this, but when I think back it’s important as well.” He admitted that Maths is not something he looks forward to.
Talking Points Sakhir
Round four sees F1 second trip to Sakhir this season for the Grand Prix, four days ago Max Verstappen closed the gap to a point behind championship leader Lando Norris, but Red Bull and Ferrari have work to do to catch up with McLaren.
The 3.363-mile circuit built on a camel farm in the desert is a fast, twisty circuit with tight hairpins and many overtaking opportunities was created. The track can be tricky, though, with wind to contend with in the flat expanse, and since the race takes place in the evening, varied temperatures throughout the day.
Bahrain also has rain on occasion, with running in preseason testing earlier this year marred by cool temperatures and spots of rain.
Classic desert weather is expected this weekend. The forecast is hot and sunny with daytime highs of 36°C from Friday through to Sunday and low wind speeds. Night-time temperatures are expected to drop to around 22°C.
This going to be very important weekend as we expect upgrades and if we think that we are three races into the season, the first real opportunity to bring upgrades and teams will be able to compare to testing in February.
Last weekend wasn’t a classic but its implications could be key in the race for the championship, as we know Norris leads by a point, one of the biggest lessons could be McLaren does look to be the quickest car but not by a big enough margin to dominate entire weekends, and that left the door open for Verstappen to do something special with his Qualifying lap.
When you include Lewis Hamilton’s victory from pole position in the Sprint in China, we’ve had four different winners from four different race events, and all four started on pole. That shows how competitive it is this season but also how important clean air appears to be. In Bahrain eighteen of the twenty races have been won from the front row.
The big story heading into the Suzuka weekend was the driver swap at Red Bull, which saw Yuki Tsunoda replace Liam Lawson after just two rounds of the season. Both drivers handled the situation impressively, but come the end of Saturday it was clear why it has been such a challenging situation in the second Red Bull seat.
Tsunoda showed encouraging pace throughout the weekend but found the car tricky on a crucial Q2 lap and dropped out as the slowest car in that session, one spot behind Lawson who was a bit more comfortable in the Racing Bull.
Mercedes looked quick in Bahrain in testing and will hope to replicate that this weekend, while Ferrari are also still in the picture. Charles Leclerc delivered a very impressive performance in Qualifying to secure fourth on the grid in Japan and retained that spot in the race, and while he couldn’t stick with the top three he was also closer to the race winner thirteen months ago
For the midfield teams they looked strong in testing and we need to see how much progress they have made, Williams and Alpine were it looked like leading that midfield but it was tight. Everyone I think has something to play for this weekend and that includes the rookies who will know this circuit well.
Those three days of running in February will provide the rookies with a far greater level of familiarity given they’ve driven their current cars on the Bahrain International Circuit, potentially reducing the gap between themselves and the more experienced drivers.
F1 bracing for impacts of trade war
The former head of marketing at Jordan Mark Gallagher says the sport will be bracing for the potential impacts of US President Donald Trump’s recently announced tariffs. The last week has caused chaos on global stock markets and shares in Ferrari, Mercedes, Renault, McLaren, Aston Martin and Honda were all hit due to import tariffs on cars.
The Japanese Grand Prix was the first race weekend since the new measures were announced and it was clear an impact should be expected. But how it affects the series remains largely unknown at the moment. The automotive industry as a whole will undoubtedly be hit by the tariffs, some of which were put in place largely because of what Trump and his team believed was an unfair system when it came to importing and exporting cars and car components.
These comments were made before the U-turn on Wednesday when Trump announced a pause on most countries holding tariffs on most countries at 10% but escalated the trade war with China to 145%, accusing Beijing of a “lack of respect” after it retaliated by saying it would impose tariffs of 84% on US imports.
Speaking to James Allen on F1, Gallagher said, “It’s still early days and it remains to be seen what impact this is going to have on Formula 1. When you look at the car manufacturers in Formula 1, Mercedes-Benz sold 325,000 vehicles in the United States last year. Mercedes sold about 2 million cars last year, about 2.5 or 2.6 million vehicles in total. So that’s a reasonable proportion of Mercedes sales.”
A quarter of Ferrari’s and nearly half of McLaren’s sales come from the US and these are manufactured in Europe, while Renault is looking to return to the US market in the coming years after four decades. With Ford and Cadillac entering in the coming years it is unclear how this would impact them.
While Haas’ F1 programme is based out of Banbury and Maranello the machine tools side of the business is based in the US, and they expect to be hit by the retaliation from other countries like China, Canada and the EU.
A statement from Haas said, “Haas Automation is in the process of studying the full impact of tariffs on our operations,” it read. “In recent days, we’ve seen a dramatic decrease in demand for our machine tools from both domestic and foreign customers.”
But added, “the Trump Administration will come up with the solutions to provide relief for US manufacturers – solutions that will allow us to continue manufacturing Haas CNC machines in the US, while employing thousands of workers at our factory in Oxnard and indirectly at Haas Factory Outlets across America.”
The trade war could have wider implications as a slow down in profits for both the teams and sponsors means less cash, it could also impact races, when it was looking that major manufacturers were becoming interested in returning following the 2007-09 financial crisis and profits bounced back strongly following Covid.
F1’s share price has fallen 10% in the last week since the trade war began, but at close on Wednesday started to rise. At close in Asia and Europe on Thursday all the main markets in London, Paris and Frankfurt were up between 3.04% and 4.53% but US markets were down between 3.35% and 6.25% as of 17:15GMT.
The Weekend Ahead
F1 returns to Sakhir which I think could be an important weekend as teams bring upgrades as we see how much progress teams have made since testing. Friday lunchtime which we know is unrepresentative this being a night race should give us a better understanding its effectively a test session as we are going to have several young drivers and we know teams will have some data, but its going to be even more difficult it was twenty-five degrees warmer than testing.
It will be interesting to see what the teams have brought as this is the best place for upgrades before Jeddah and Miami. Can anyone close the gap to McLaren who we all believe are the team to beat, but they can’t make mistakes as in my view that opened the door to Max Verstappen, I don’t think in testing we saw everything from Ferrari as we know they have had a mixed start to the season.
This race is one where we tend to see the race won from the front row that’s more down to it favouring the fastest car, but we are going to see very different factors at play because it’s going to be a lot warmer and that will increase tyre degradation making strategy key. We also know how tight it has been this year in the midfield both in qualifying and the race, but this isn’t as key as we do get overtaking.
Its very hard to predict the second half of the grid as its so tight they are all fighting for ninth and tenth behind the top four teams and there tends to be big rewards if the top four run into difficult in both qualifying and more so here the race. To me in that group the likes of Haas and Williams are the most improved at this point in the season, but can they keep it up as the season progresses?