Day one of pre-season testing in Bahrain is over. Each team completed several laps of the Sakhir circuit.
Kimi Antonelli topped the time sheets during the morning session. While lap times are nothing to go by at this stage, the Italian looked comfortable in the W16.
By the end of the afternoon session – which was interrupted by a power cut at the circuit – Lando Norris had set the fastest time of the day. The teams enjoyed tremendous reliability with very few issues on track – but there were some things to take note of.
Liam Lawson spun at turn three as his RB21 caught the curb at turn two, causing him to lose the back end heading into the corner. The Kiwi driver got going ahead but Red Bull will ‘absolutely hate’ Lawson’s spin as their rivals can get a look at how their airflow works on the sidepod.
Christian Horner says a gust of wind caught out Lawson for his spin – which may also explain why Isack Hadjar spun at turn four in the afternoon.
Ted Kravitz was worried about Nico Hulkenberg’s body language after the session. The German got out of his Sauber early, prompting the end of his session. According to journalist Christian Menath, there was a key reason for that as Hulkenberg left the garage.
Nico Hulkenberg had to ‘seek medical treatment’ after a ‘particle’ flew in his eye
Hulkenberg had been scheduled to take part in the press conference after the session alongside four other drivers. But the German was absent, leaving many to speculate what had happened.
Menath says a ‘particle’ flew into the 37-year-old’s eye, forcing him to go to the medical centre. Fortunately, Hulkenberg has the ‘all clear’ and will take part in the morning session on day two for Sauber.
“Nico Hulkenberg had to get out of the car early after just three and a half hours. His working day was then over,” said Menath via Motorsport-Magazin.
“He was actually supposed to be at the FIA press conference but he was not and then it was clear to us that something wasn’t right. It’s not that noticeable that a driver gets out half an hour early or that he’s not on the track.
“It’s not that noticeable at a test. We look at the times and everyone follows a different programme, so that can happen from time to time. But when Nico Hulkenberg wasn’t at the press conference where he was actually announced, it was clear that something wasn’t right.
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“And then it quickly emerged that the team had been working on the car and a particle flew into Nico Hulkenberg’s eye and that meant that he had to get out of the car a good half hour early and seek medical treatment.
“But at this point we can already give the all-clear. Everything is OK again.”
Gary Anderson baffled by one component of Sauber’s 2025 car
Sauber are in desperate need of improvements on the track to compete for points in 2025. The Swiss team will become Audi in 2026.
Sauber scored just four points in 2024 through Zhou Guanyu’s eighth-place finish in Qatar. Hulkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto will hope to score more regularly this season with the C45.
But Gary Anderson is baffled by Sauber’s rear diffuser on their 2025 challenger. The Hinwil-based outfit have made an evolution of last year’s car – as have most of the grid – but making that area ‘smaller’ has been brought into question as teams ‘would give a right arm’ to increase the exit area.
The order is not expected to change massively in 2025, which will leave Sauber likely at the back again in 2025. It seems the team are banking on Audi’s takeover to turn their fortunes around.
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