Event

Technical images from Bahrain pre-season testing explained

by Samarth Kanal

2min read

Racing Bulls F1 car at 2025 preseason testing

Join Raceteq as we explore technical imagery from the 2025 Aramco Formula 1 pre-season test at Bahrain International Circuit, where all 10 teams evaluated their new cars on track.

The Formula 1 Aramco pre-season test took place in Bahrain from February 26-28, 2025, with all 20 drivers turning laps in their new machines in preparation for the 2025 Formula 1 season.

Scroll down to view the most interesting technical imagery from the event.

Front wing of the Mercedes W16 at 2025 pre-season testing

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Mercedes’s W16 sports a new nose among many other changes. The tip of this nose is attached to the mainplane, eliminating the slot gap underneath it. F1 cars can now have a hole in their nose to aid driver cooling - although this could also play a role in enhancing airflow downstream.
McLaren with flow vis paint on its rear wing during 2025 F1 preseason testing
Racing Bulls leading Ferrari, Red Bull and McLaren in 2025 F1 pre-season testing

Event

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Lando Norris’s McLaren MCL39 had a swathe of flow-vis paint on its right-rear corner. Flow-vis paint is used to show airflow structures as it dries when the driver laps the circuit. McLaren has adjusted its front suspension layout to control dive - when the front moves forward under braking load - by lowering suspension links. 
Haas F1 pitwall at 2025 preseason testing
2024 F1 testing practice start, cars lined up on the grid at nighttime

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Haas arrived in Bahrain with a larger pitwall. The team stood out in recent seasons with a three-person pitwall - made smaller in 2023 for cost-saving reasons - but has doubled the size of its gantry for 2025.
Williams F1 car with aero rakes at 2025 preseason testing
Mercedes F1 car in silver and black leading two green F1 cars in the F1 pitlane during 2025 F1 preseason testing

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Carlos Sainz’s Williams FW47 F1 car sporting massive aerodynamic rakes - a series of sensors to measure airflow - across its front. Williams has notably changed its rear suspension to a pushrod configuration, mirroring engine and gearbox supplier Mercedes, for a narrower rear and better airflow to the rear.
Flow-vis paint on the side of a Sauber during 2025 preseason testing

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Nico Hulkenberg at the wheel of the Sauber C45 with the right-hand side covered in orange flow-vis paint. The team is seeking progress after finishing 2024 at the bottom of the constructors’ championship table - before it transitions to Audi in 2026.
Ferrari F1 garage F1 preseason testing Bahrain
Render of Aston Martin AMR24 showing Venturi tunnels effect

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Ferrari’s garage in darkness as the power goes out at Bahrain International Circuit. This power cut cost an hour of track running that was added onto the end of the day. Teams scrambled to bring generators to their pit garages as the first day of testing was red-flagged… 
Red Bull mechanics working in garage at Bahrain during 2025 F1 preseason testing, during a powercut

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Red Bull’s garage was lit up by those temporary generators, which provided valuable light. However, the generators also ensured that each team could continue backing up the copious data they were gathering from the track - as each local server only holds onto that data for a short period of time before it is deleted or overwritten.
Alpine F1 car at 2025 preseason testing in Bahrain
Alpine’s Pierre Gasly driving under the lights in Bahrain using the Pirelli C3 tyre, identified by yellow writing but a lack of a yellow band around its sidewall. Teams picked their allocation of tyre for the event and the C3 tyre (in the middle of Pirelli’s range from softest to hardest) was the most popular -  it is the most used compound over the season. It will also be the qualifying tyre for the 2025 Bahrain Grand Prix.

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