Pre-season testing has always been a vitally important aspect of Formula 1 but has increasingly become a more and more precise art for teams to execute.
F1 testing only lasts for three days now with each manufacturer only able to bring one car.
It means teams have to split driving duties between their two competitors and any reliability issues or unforeseen difficulties – such as glass on the start line or a bus driving on the run-off area – can scupper any well-made plans.
While the final pecking order in the paddock won’t be known until the start of the Australian Grand Prix, testing in Bahrain has given fans an inkling of whether their favourite team will be competitive or not this season.
McLaren appear to have the fastest car this season after a very confident showing at the Bahrain International Circuit.
Meanwhile, Sauber seem to be in trouble again with Nico Hulkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto likely to be racing each other at the back of the grid.
Kimi Raikkonen former engineer Julien Simon-Chautemps was speaking on The Race F1 Podcast and his sources in the paddock gave him the lowdown of what was happening during testing.
It sounds like staff in the Aston Martin garage weren’t having the best time after a tricky end to 2024.
Aston Martin staff had ‘long faces’ after watching their cars during pre-season F1 testing
Simon-Chautemps was asked to analyse how the midfield teams performed during testing and said: “The big surprise of the test was Alpine.
“They were consistently P5, so ahead of the pack and we also confirmed that Pierre Gasly is clearly ahead of [Jack] Doohan, especially now. I mean there is quite a big difference in terms of lap time. So that was what we learned.
“And then after that, you have V-CARB, or whatever they are called now, and Williams, great top speed but that was the characteristic of the car over the years.
“But again, this year, it seems that they have a package which is really efficient.
READ MORE: All to know about Aston Martin F1 Team from team principal to lineage
“And then for me, one of the disappointments was Aston [Martin]. Talking to some people in the paddock and you were there, I wasn’t, but apparently they had some long faces over there, like not very happy.
“They clearly don’t have the pace in qualifying or in the race. So they’re around P8.
“ And then you have Haas, who I believe they are not showing their real potential. There are a lot of reliability issues with some engine covers. They’re clearly trying to push the weight limit there.”
Fernando Alonso has delivered worrying private verdict about Aston Martin’s 2025 F1 car
Aston Martin’s fifth-place finish in last season’s constructors’ championship was mainly down to Fernando Alonso.
Lance Stroll failed to score a point during the final 11 Grand Prix putting pressure on the Spaniard to deliver.
Alonso still finished ahead of every other driver outside the top four teams in 2024 but will have a much harder time doing that this year.
READ MORE: Aston Martin driver Fernando Alonso’s life outside F1 from net worth to Cars 2
Aston Martin – who have 95 Grand Prix starts as a manufacturer to their name – are gearing up for 2026 and the sport’s new regulations and while they haven’t abandoned this season, they’ve either not committed as many resources to this year’s car, or not fully understood how to move forward over the winter.
Ted Kravitz believes Aston Martin might want Adrian Newey to work on this year’s car but he may be better off concentrating on next year.
Alonso’s private verdict on Aston Martin’s 2025 car has been concerning and would explain why the team’s staff didn’t look happy in Bahrain.
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