Relive the second day of the 2025 winter tests with live commentary

The action continues this Thursday in Bahrain with the second day of winter testing for the 2025 season. Formula 1The teams have three days of testing to understand their new car before flying to Melbourne to compete in the Australian Grand Prix (March 14-16). This Wednesday, it's Lando Norris who set the best time of the day with a lap of 1'30"430 at the wheel of his MCL39 during the afternoon session.

This new day will still take place in the same format, namely two sessions of 4 hours each (8:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. and 13:00 p.m.-17:00 p.m.).

You can follow the times in real time on the official live timing of F1.

Here is the breakdown of the day's rides by team:

Thursday February 27
McLaren : Piastres (morning) / Norris (afternoon)
Ferrari : Hamilton (morning) / Leclerc (afternoon)
Red Bull : Lawson (day)
Mercedes : Russell (morning) / Antonelli (afternoon)
Aston Martin : Alonso (Morning) / Stroll (afternoon)
Alpine : gasly (morning) / Doohan (afternoon)
Haas : Or with (morning) / Bearman (afternoon)
Racing Bulls : tsunoda (morning) / Hadjar (afternoon)
Williams : Sainz (daytime)
Sauber : Hulkenberg (morning) / Bortoleto (afternoon)

Winter Testing – Bahrain 2025
Follow Day 2 live with commentary

17:10 p.m. – 🏁 This is the end of this live commentary. See you this Thursday, once again at 8:00 a.m., to follow the last day of pre-season testing in Bahrain. Have a great evening everyone!

17:00 – 🏁 Curtain down in Bahrain where the second day of pre-season testing has just concluded. Unsurprisingly, the standings did not change much in this second part of the session where everyone focused on the long runs. Sainz therefore easily kept the best time in 1'29"348 ahead of Hamilton and Sainz for only 31 and 83 thousandths

16:50 p.m. – ⏱️ Only 10 minutes left before the checkered flag. The teams take advantage of this to chain together a few last laps before closing the garage.

16h44 - Doohan in action. The Aussie is 8th with a best time of 1'30"368, 1"020 behind Sainz

😎😎😎 pic.twitter.com/jZ2yNXk3pq

—BWT Alpine Formula One Team (@AlpineF1Team) February 27, 2025

16:30 p.m. – ⏱️ Only 30 minutes of riding left on Thursday with the ranking still dominated by Sainz

16h27 - And it improves for Hadjar who enters the Top 10. The Tricolore has moved up to 10th place with a best lap in 1'30“675 with 85 laps already covered

16h22 - Back in the pits, Norris completed a 20-lap stint on hard tires. The McLaren driver is already on 68 laps in this second session of the day and is currently in 13th place, 1 seconds behind the leader. Proof that he has worked mainly on race pace.

16:11 p.m. – 🚁 What do you think about these aerial shots? Is it a yes or a no?

16h03 - 🔧 Lots of work at Red Bull on Lawson's car again. The New Zealander is down while his RB21 is on the jacks, stripped of a good part of its bodywork. End of the day?

16:00 p.m. – End of the third hour of afternoon driving and start of the last. The standings have not really changed as the teams focus on the long runs. Leader since the first moments of this second session, Sainz holds the best time of the week in 1'29"348. On the French side, Hadjar has moved up to 15th

15h58 - Hadjar improves and goes back up. 1'31“175 for the Tricolore who comes back to 4 tenths of Tsunoda. He is 15th one hour from the end of the day

15h52 - 🟠 McLaren has really decided to put speed aside this afternoon to focus on performance over time. Norris is indeed working on long runs and has just started one on hard tyres. The Englishman is 13th, 1 behind Sainz and has completed 534 laps at this point.

15h38 - 🌧️ This day has definitely been marked by the threat of rain. It is even back with a few drops starting to fall on the circuit

15h25 - A little too much attack for the leader of this night session

15h22 - Lawson who is coming back in this rather mild period. The New Zealander who encountered some technical problems this morning is now 6th at 1 behind Sainz

15:16 – 💬 Ocon praised his new team-mate Bearman, who he sees as having great technical ability. It's going very well, he confided to Canal+. He is much better prepared than I was when I arrived in F1. Technically, you can see that he has been very well trained. He knows very well how the car will react when we make a setting change. He is very technical, he works very hard and I am very impressed. We work very well and all the dialogues are open on both sides of the garage. When I finish on a note or we need to improve something, he takes over directly for the second part of the day. »

15h08 - Hadjar took advantage of this to improve and gain a position (17th). The Tricolore who has already completed 61 laps in just over two hours has a best time in 1'33"883 at 4"5 from Sainz

15:00 – Halfway point as we have just completed the second hour in this second session of the day. This last hour was rather calm with the drivers working mainly with cars loaded with fuel. The ranking has not really moved and it is still dominated by Sainz in 1'29“348

14h57 - It's pretty quiet in terms of action as the teams work a lot on the long runs given the times and their stability in terms of the standings. Norris for example has just started the 12th lap on the same train. He is on a second 8-lap stint of this one

14h54 - A reconversion for Bottas while waiting for a permanent position?

14:43 p.m. – 🌧️ Indeed, the sky is still threatening in Bahrain with a few drops

14h34 - Doohan called back to his pits. The blockage and the veer to the outside of turn 4 cost the Australian's tires dearly, forcing him to return to the warm. Leclerc was also caught out and spun in the final corner. Some areas are clearly still damp

14:31 p.m. – 🌧️ Rain remains threatening over the Sakhir circuit where the sky is not clearing. The drivers are kept informed almost lap by lap by their engineer.

14h23 - If he is 18th, 6 seconds behind Sainz, we should not worry about Hadjar. The Tricolore continues his adaptation and Helmut Marko recently explained that these days are very important for the rookies for their adaptation and that they are then asked to follow a very specific program.

14h08 - A small spin for Sainz at the first corner. No consequences for the Madrilenian who sets off again immediately.

14:00 – The first of four hours of afternoon/evening testing in Bahrain ends with Carlos Sainz leading the way in 1'29"348. The Spaniard improved twice to relegate Hamilton, who was resting in this second session of the day, to 31 thousandths. Leclerc is third, 83 thousandths behind. Stroll is currently the only driver without a single time to his credit

13h57 - After nearly an hour of waiting, Norris will finally take to the track. The Englishman prepares for a few reconnaissance laps

13h48 - Antonelli invites himself into the Top 5 just ahead of Doohan. 1'29"784 for the Italian who is only 6 tenths behind his teammate Russell

13:41 – 🔧 Lawson said it was a water leak. The Kiwi was unable to drive during the last hour of the morning on Thursday. Meanwhile, Norris has not yet come out. McLaren is working on the underside of his car.

13h36 - While some are starting to do some fast laps, Leclerc has invited himself into the upper part of the table. The Monegasque is in 4th place, 0 behind his former teammate.

13:27 p.m. – The best time has already arrived, thanks to Sainz. In the Williams, the Madrilenian took provisional first place with a time of 1'29"366, beating Hamilton by 13 thousandths.

13:22 p.m. – 🟢 Good news from Red Bull as the problem on Lawson's RB21 has apparently been identified and repaired as the New Zealander has returned to the track

13h15 - 🌧️ Leclerc reports rain on the radio. His engineer tells him that this intensity should last another twenty minutes.

13h04 - Hadjar is the first to take to the track, probably for one or more reconnaissance laps at the start of the session.

13h03 - Compared to this morning, only Lawson (Red Bull) and Sainz (Williams) are back behind the wheel. For the rest, everyone changes and we will see Norris, Leclerc, Antonelli, Stroll, Doohan, Bearman, Hadjar and Bortoleto in action.

13:00 p.m. – 🟢 We're back in Bahrain for the second day of the day with skies that are still threatening. Will we still have rain? We'll know in a few moments.

12:55 p.m. – The day is scheduled to resume in just a few minutes.

12:00 – 🏁 End of this first session of the day in Bahrain where the table did not change in the last part. It was dominated by Hamilton in 1'29“379 ahead of Russell (0“399) and Sainz (+0“711). Gasly and Alonso completed the Top 5. An hour of break now awaits the drivers before a new 4-hour session starting at 13:00

11h55 - The chequered flag has not yet been waved but the session is almost over as the FIA ​​is taking advantage of these last 5 minutes to carry out some safety procedures with VSC, Safety Car and red flag checks.

11:40 a.m. – With 20 minutes to go, here is an update on the standings, still dominated by Hamilton:

11h31 - And a first contact! In a track with only 10 drivers and while they are not all on the track, Piastri and Hülkenberg found a way to touch each other

First contact of the year! 💥

Piastri and Hulkenberg getting a little too close for comfort #F1Testing #F1 pic.twitter.com/enyaPnr0ga

- Formula 1 (@ F1) February 27, 2025

11h17 - An offensive morning for Hamilton who set off on a fast lap. The Englishman lit up the first two sectors in purple and almost stuck three tenths to his best time, 0"291 to be precise. The new mark to beat is 1'29"379. Slowly but surely, we are getting closer to the 1'28

11:04 – 🔧 Problems at Red Bull? Lawson has apparently returned to his pits when he wasn't supposed to. The mechanics have removed the engine cover. Albert Fabrega reports that it could be a problem with the cooling system.

© AlbertFabrega

11:00 – End of the third hour of driving in this first session of the day. The pace accelerated in these last 20 minutes. Russell set the best time for a time but Hamilton immediately responded, even improving twice with a final fast lap in 1'29“670. Last for a good part, Piastri was able to do a few slightly faster laps but remains at a distance from Hamilton (+1“169). Clearly, we are not working on the same axes at McLaren

10h55 - New improvement for Hamilton by 5 thousandths. The new reference to beat is 1'29“670

10h52 - The times are improving considerably. Russell took the lead with a lap in 1'29“879 but Hamilton beat him in the process with a 1'29“675. 0“204 gap between the two men. It's already going faster than in 2024

10h49 - Sainz closes in on Hamilton. After lighting up the first sector in purple and counting more than a tenth of a lead, the Madrilenian finished this fast lap just 10 thousandths of a second behind the Englishman. 1'30“090 for him on the line

10h41 - Flavio Briatore spoke to Canal+ about the situationAlpine and promises more changes to come. The car is much better, we have new very important sponsors and the team is starting to take shape. We are starting to have a racing team and I am happy about that. I think it is not bad because Pierre is happy with the performance of the car. We have to work on small details. Many things will change again soon (in the team). We have to be competitive again, be an aggressive team, capable of winning races… I have given myself 3 years to get back Alpine in its place in Formula 1 because we have everything to do well, everything! »

10h26 - The track conditions are not yet optimal, as Piastri lost control of the front axle and preferred to visit the outside of the bend. The asphalt is clearly not yet completely dry.

10h19 - It definitely got busy as almost everyone got back on track. The raindrops disappeared as Tsunoda went for a quick lap.

10h06 - There is movement little by little on the track! Russell came out for a few laps with mediums but for the moment the conditions do not allow him to be in the times of the session, running at 5/6 seconds of the times

10h00 - At the end of this second hour, the ranking has unsurprisingly not changed...

9:53 a.m. – 🌧️ The action is not about to resume in this session given the images we are receiving from Bahrain

It's officially damp ☔️#F1Testing #F1 pic.twitter.com/4RDYnn3UqE

- Formula 1 (@ F1) February 27, 2025

9h41 - Who said it wasn't running in Bahrain? Not Ocon in any case. The Norman has the luxury of coming out again since Haas is the only team along with Aston Martin to have tyres to run on a wet track. The Tricolore is in intermediates

9h33 - Gasly's helmet was removed while Alonso got out of his car

Pierre says 👋#F1Testing #F1 pic.twitter.com/9OrNahvs1j

- Formula 1 (@ F1) February 27, 2025

9h28 - We are taking advantage of this period of calm to take stock of the standings, which are still dominated by Hamilton ahead of Sainz and Russell.

9:22 p.m. – 🌧️ It's dead calm in Bahrain where Tsunoda, the last driver still on the track, has just returned to his garage. Now, everyone is warm and waiting for conditions to improve.

9:18am – 💬 “It’s pretty wet,” Hamilton says on the radio as more and more drops of rain are seen on the cameras on the TV broadcast. There is talk of an increase in the rain that is said to be constant in Bahrain.

9:11 – 💬 Verstappen, who is not driving all day this Thursday, appeared satisfied after his Wednesday session with the RB21. "From what I have been able to do so far, everything has gone well. There have been no bad surprises, only good surprises. I don't need to talk about pure pace, because we don't know it yet, but everything works well and the car does what I want it to do. I feel like I have everything under control and that's what we can hope for, really, going into this test."

9:03 p.m. – 🌧️ Drivers are reporting more and more water drops on the track. Russell, who was setting off for a fast lap, was trapped at the exit of the first corner.

9:00 a.m. – End of the first hour of driving this Thursday morning and therefore a point in the standings! This is still dominated by Hamilton with a best lap in 1'30"080 ahead of a Sainz in rather good shape since he is only 0"072 behind. We can see that there are different areas of work this Thursday morning since Ocon and Tsunoda are more than 3 and 7 seconds behind while Piastri has not really set a time for the moment

8h54 - At Ferrari the emphasis has been on fast laps for a few minutes. New improvement Hamilton who is getting closer to 1'29. 1'30“080 for the Englishman, logically still at the top of the classification

8h46 - Hamilton is pushing! The Englishman takes the best provisional time of this first session in 1'30"287 ahead of Russell by 92 thousandths

8h40 - Russell is chaining the laps together this early morning. Already 17 to the credit of the Englishman who is still in the lead

8:33 – The pace has increased and it's already going very fast since the best time from the day before has already been beaten. Russell is dominating the proceedings at the moment with a time of 1'30"379, he is ahead of Lawson by 1"723

8:29 p.m. – 🌧️ Still no trace of showers in Sakhir but the drivers are still reporting a few drops of rain early this morning. Nothing too bad since the action has resumed on the track. Lawson, Hamilton, Alonso, and Ocon are on the track

8h21 - While Piastri is back on track and the rest of the field is in the pit lane, we take the opportunity to give you an update on the session standings:

8h18 - While it was fairly quiet on the track, Hamilton took advantage of the situation to take the lead with a lap of 1'33"680, 0"202 ahead of his former teammate Russell. For the moment, we are very far from the times of the day before, more than two seconds compared to the morning and almost three compared to the afternoon.

8:13 a.m. – 🌧️ Indeed, the sky appears threatening above the Sakhir circuit at the moment…

© F1TV

8h10 - All 10 drivers have already taken to the track at least once while Gasly, Alonso and Piastri have returned to their garage. In terms of times, it is fairly quiet for the moment while everyone is finding their marks. The best provisional time is to be put to the credit of Russell in 1'33"882 ahead of Hülkenberg by 2"685.

8:03 – 🌧️ On the radio, Russell says that there are already some wet parts of the circuit while we can see drops on Gasly's helmet visor. If it were to actually rain this Thursday morning, only two teams have wet tyres: Aston Martin three sets of intermediate tyres and Haas one set of intermediates and one set of maxi wet

8:02 p.m. – 🌧️ First information in this first session of the day, the weather radars reveal that there is a 90% chance of rain this Thursday morning in Bahrain. It is currently 13°C in the air while the track is at 14°C. It is rather cool

8:00 AM – 🟢 The light turns green at the end of the pit lane! Sauber and Mercedes are the first teams to take to the track with Hulkenberg and Russell at the wheel. 4:00 on the clock this morning.

7h57 - For this second day of testing, two teams have decided to run only one driver: Red Bull and Williams, who will rely on Lawson and Sainz respectively this Thursday.

7h52 - For those who weren't there yesterday, here's a quick summary of Wednesday:

7h45 - 👋 Hello everyone, welcome to follow in full this second day of the winter tests of the 2025 Formula 1 season on the Sakhir circuit, in Bahrain. The start of the first session of the day is scheduled for 8:00 this Thursday morning.

ALSO READ > Mercedes begins pre-season testing in Bahrain with serenity