F1 Preseason Testing: Russell tops final Day of testing in Bahrain

With 5 minutes to go on the final day of F1 preseason testing at the Bahrain International Circuit, Mercedes driver George Russell turned a lap of 1m29.545s to go fastest from the Red Bull Honda Max Verstappen by 0.021s.

–by Mark Cipolloni–

Three busy days saw all 20 race drivers on track, able to work on development of their new cars more or less uninterrupted. In total, there were 25 hours of track time, with 3,896 laps completed, equivalent to 21,090,564 kilometers.

It was a good test for Mercedes by the looks of things. Russell’s time today was not enough to give him the nominal pole position for the test, that honor going to Carlos Sainz with his time of 1m29.348s set yesterday in the Williams. He thus repeats his performance of last year when at the wheel of a Ferrari. Further confirmation of how closely matched were the top teams at this test, three different drivers from three different teams topped the time sheet each day, the only one not mentioned so far being Lando Norris on the first day.

Both Russell and Verstappen set their fast time today on the middle range C3 Pirelli tire, while third fastest, Alex Albon, set his fastest lap on the softer C4 tire. Albon ended up 0.105s behind Russell.

Oscar Piastri had the fastest race simulation run but was only 4th fastest overall, 0.395s behind Russell.

Pierre Gasly rounded out the top-5 for Alpine, 0.495s behind Russell.

He might only have had the one session, but Ocon has managed a mighty 103 laps. Compare that to Hamilton, who completed 47 before parking up early, with Ferrari already starting to take that car to pieces, getting ready to ship it all to Australia

Related Article:  F1 Preseason Testing: Leclerc fastest for Ferrari on Day 3 morning

The literal million-dollar question, and one we cannot answer. The body language at McLaren and Mercedes both looks excellent. Red Bull are making noises that they are fast too – but do they have any worries regarding how to get the best from their car? Ferrari have been quick all test, but seemed to have a few gremlins in the systems today.

But such is the speed of F1, so much could change in the next two weeks alone, and Albert Park is an unusual track that may suit one team more than another.

With testing of the 2025 cars now complete, Pirelli stays at the Sakhir track for a further two days of testing on Sunday 2^nd and Monday 3^rd March. On the agenda, development of the 2026 tires, working with Alpine and Williams. The French team will run its two test drivers, Paul Aron and Ryo Hirakawa, while the English squad is giving its race drivers Alexander Albon and Carlos Sainz more time on track.

Top 3 Driver Quotes

George Russell
We’ve had a productive three days here at pre-season testing in Bahrain. The team at Brackley, Brixworth, and here trackside have done a great job to have us ready for the test and rack up a significant amount of mileage. We’ve had a seamless three days, and the car is running well. It is no surprise to see some of our competitors, particularly McLaren, looking strong. We’ve compiled significant data and knowledge which gives the opportunity to find further improvements ahead of Melbourne. Kimi and I will be in the factory next week, driving on the simulator, and everyone will be pushing flat out to ensure we bring our best to Australia. I can’t wait to get started!

Max Verstappen
“I think we had a decent day today, there were a few little problems, but overall, we completed quite a bit of what we wanted to do. I think it wasn’t bad but at the same time there is still a bit of work to do. However, it is what we expected and we will keep on working and keep on trying to improve and hopefully, as we go into Melbourne, we will learn a bit more by going through all the data and see where we are at. It is difficult to tell where everyone’s pace is, so there is still a bit of work to do for us. We are looking forward to starting racing properly again in Australia.”

Alex Albon
“It was a tricky day – I don’t know what it was like for the other drivers, but the morning was really difficult with the wind, and we didn’t really get much of a rhythm. We had a couple of issues on the car which delayed things as well, so we were struggling a little bit to get going.  Finally, we got a good long run in and a decent lowish performance run style, ending the day with some more long runs. So all in all, I’m positive. I do think we need to look at some data with a couple of areas we need to focus on. The good thing is, we know where the lap time is and I don’t think it’s that hard to achieve, so we’ll do some work around that and get ready for Melbourne!”

2025 F1 Preseason Testing Day 3 Results