F1 2025 Pre-Season Testing is here! But how much do testing times really tell us? ЁЯдФ From Lewis HamiltonтАЩs Ferrari debut to McLaren vs. Red Bull, in this episode of the Inside Line F1 Podcast, Kunal Shah breaks down what matters and what doesnтАЩt from Formula 1 pre-season testing in Bahrain!
ThereтАЩs so much to analyse, but what are we looking forward to the most? HereтАЩs a lowdown on what we know will keep us hooked for this week!
тЬЕ What is F1 pre-season testing? Why do teams do it?
тЬЕ How to analyse a teamтАЩs performance in testing тАУ Reading between the lines!
тЬЕ Does strong testing = a strong season?
тЬЕ Can teams get more testing time if they face issues? ЁЯдп
тЬЕ What are Ferrari & McLaren focusing on? (Radical new designs + Lewis HamiltonтАЩs Ferrari debut!)
ЁЯСЙ Subscribe for more exclusive F1 content: https://rb.gy/cev1bw
ЁЯСЙ Join our conversation: Who do YOU think will be the fastest in BahrainтАЩs pre-season testing? Drop your predictions in the comments below.
It doesnтАЩt end there. The conversations on F1тАЩs 2025 pre-season testing this week will continue. But as the season picks up, we will be reflecting on things to MUST watch out for in the 2025 season:
тАв Max VerstappenтАЩs hunt for a 5th title тАУ Will Red Bull stay dominant?
тАв McLarenтАЩs rapid 2024 development тАУ Can they continue this momentum into 2025?
тАв FerrariтАЩs 2025 season preview тАУ Can Leclerc & Hamilton fight for wins?
тАв Mercedes comeback? тАУ Is the W16 finally competitive?
тАв Aston Martin & AlpineтАЩs midfield battle тАУ Who takes the lead?
тАв Are we witnessing the next gen of superstars? - Can rookies like Bearman, Antonelli & Doohan make an impact?
ЁЯЫС Subscribe for more F1 insights: https://podfollow.com/inside-line-f1-podcast
ЁЯТм Follow us on social media: @insidelinef1pod
Tune in!
(Season 2025, Episode 05)
Follow our hosts: Soumil Arora, @f1statsguru & Kunal Shah
Image courtesy: Formula 1
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[00:00:00] The only reason for Formula 1 cars to go testing is to show off their Transformer mode. I love the rakes on the Formula 1 cars. I think they make the cars look even cooler, geekier, and I like that about Formula 1 cars.
[00:00:18] Yes, it is actually written in the Formula 1 regulations that pre-season testing can only be three days long and each team can just run one car, which means the drivers are literally splitting time on track. This is very similar to Formula 1 controlling wind tunnel time like CFD cycles and even the team's racing budget with the new budget caps. Two key aspects that I remember teams would love to focus on in pre-season testing would be one, the correlation between track performance and simulator data.
[00:00:48] So remember all the work they did in the winter was all offline. They get to correlate offline work with online car running on track. Very, very important. And then the second is always identifying a sweet spot in their package that serves as the baseline in the first few races. If you're a cricket fan, pre-season testing is like net practice. If you're a football or a baseball or a basketball fan,
[00:01:13] pre-season testing is Formula 1's pre-season warm-up game. Deciphering pre-season testing form is even more complex. But why is it complex? This leads me to the question from Pravar on Twitter. He asked me saying, how do teams fool fans in pre-season testing? Simply put, a team can appear competitive in pre-season testing if they run, say, a lighter fuel load because, well, the lighter the car, the faster you go.
[00:01:38] And the same can actually be said about engine modes as well. If you use a more powerful engine mode, there are very, very minute ways of deciphering whether a team is actually at a good test or not. At the end of the day, the cars that the teams will test in Bahrain might not necessarily be the cars that they race in the first round of the season in Australia.
[00:02:00] In fact, Formula 1 teams might already be working on upgrades that they will ship to Australia after the pre-season test confirms a few things that they've been working on. My go-to journalist for deciphering pre-season testing form is Mark Hughes, who, of course, writes for Formula 1 and the Motorsport magazine. Formula 1 has tested and raced in Bahrain before. When you consider teams have been around for a long time in testing and they've been racing there,
[00:02:28] there is historic data on lap time versus fuel loads, right? Which means how much fuel do you carry and hence what are the lap times it could result in. Quite simply, go check last year's Bahrain Grand Prix lap times. Specifically, check the Q3 lap times because the drivers there are being fueled for four odd laps for their final single lap run in Q3. Track conditions make a difference.
[00:02:53] The temperature at which the circuit was being run at are some of the other variables that are in the mix that make reading testing form very difficult. So do teams get more days to test if they lose time due to reliability? Everything in Formula 1 is about efficient planning and execution and testing is no different. It snows you lose. If you show up late or if your car build is delayed or if you have reliability issues or for whatever reason,
[00:03:19] you lose vital track time, you do not get that time back. Is testing a good indicator for full season form? Teams and drivers do get a general sense of their car's initial impressions from testing. But season-long form is much more than having just a good test.
[00:03:40] It's about consistently delivering to a baseline performance and then uplifting that baseline performance at the driver and the car level through upgrades and so much more. Teams like McLaren and Ferrari who are making radical changes to their cars in 2025, they will very much be looking for that sweet spot because that sweet spot would have definitely moved if they made radical changes to their cars. And these pre-season tests will validate their formula.
[00:04:08] And of course, with so many new drivers racing in 2025 and with several team and driver changes, the other aspects of testing include running through Grand Prix weekend routines, communication between pit wall, garage and the driver. Maybe Lewis Hamilton is specifically looking at this with Ferrari. Pit stop practice and several other areas of performance. So there's a lot to look forward to at this year's pre-season test. Even though testing can be very boring for the nerd, for the geek in you,
[00:04:38] testing is actually where the fun begins. Dissteens. Diswin