{"id":31002,"date":"2025-02-26T12:57:01","date_gmt":"2025-02-26T17:57:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/?p=31002"},"modified":"2025-02-26T13:11:47","modified_gmt":"2025-02-26T18:11:47","slug":"f1-pre-season-testing-day-1-antonelli-and-norris-lead-the-way","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2025\/02\/26\/f1-pre-season-testing-day-1-antonelli-and-norris-lead-the-way\/","title":{"rendered":"F1 Pre-Season Testing Day 1: Antonelli and Norris Lead the Way"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span data-tt=\"{}\">F1 pre-season day 1 at the Bahrain International Circuit saw teams focus on getting the laps in. Mercedes&#8217; Kimi Antonelli set the tone in the morning, while Lando Norris took charge in the afternoon session.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>What We&#8217;ve Learned from Day 1 of F1 Pre-Season Testing<\/h2>\n<p><span data-tt=\"{}\">F1 pre-season day 1 began with teams focusing on performance and data collection. As it is only the first day of testing, it is difficult to conclude what we saw on track, but there were notable developments to highlight from the first session.<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-media-max-width=\"560\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Beautiful, aren&#8217;t they? \ud83d\ude0d<a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/F1Testing?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#F1Testing<\/a> <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/F1?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#F1<\/a> <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/G0PbJNDK6C\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/G0PbJNDK6C<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Formula 1 (@F1) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/F1\/status\/1894714276817838511?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">February 26, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<h3>F1 Pre-Season Testing Day 1 Morning Session: Antonelli Sets the Pace<\/h3>\n<p><span data-tt=\"{}\"><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2025\/02\/12\/mercedes-assign-bottas-with-role-of-mentoring-kimi-antonelli\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">Kimi Antonelli<\/a> topped the timesheets in the Mercedes W16 in the morning session. The rookie has to prove himself this year and got off to a good start.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-tt=\"{}\">Red Bull\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2024\/12\/29\/liam-lawson-driving-style-wont-be-an-excuse-at-red-bull\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">Liam Lawson<\/a> followed closely, finishing just over a tenth adrift of the Italian\u2019s benchmark. <\/span><span data-tt=\"{}\">The Kiwi replaced Sergio P\u00e9rez for the 2025 season. Much like Antonelli, all eyes will be on him as he navigates becoming Verstappen&#8217;s teammate.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-tt=\"{}\">Lawson experienced the only major incident of the session, spinning in the first sector and flat-spotting his tyres. However, he avoided contact with the barriers and resumed testing without further complications.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-tt=\"{}\"><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2025\/02\/14\/alex-albon-of-course-drivers-disagree-with-latest-fia-changes\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">Alex Albon<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2025\/02\/20\/yuki-tsunoda-there-can-be-interesting-options-beyond-red-bull\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">Yuki Tsunoda<\/a> secured third and fourth, within two-tenths of Antonelli\u2019s best effort. For two mid-field teams, these are the results they will be looking for to ensure they can steadily progress throughout the season.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-tt=\"{}\"><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2025\/02\/11\/lewis-hamilton-positive-feedback-from-first-ferrari-runs\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">Lewis Hamilton<\/a> finished fifth, covering 70 laps in Ferrari\u2019s SF-25.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-tt=\"{}\">The seven-time world champion has acknowledged that work remains before he feels completely at ease with the car, but a clean session was exactly what he needed.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-tt=\"{&quot;paragraphStyle&quot;:{&quot;alignment&quot;:4,&quot;style&quot;:3}}\"><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2025\/02\/01\/jack-doohan-looks-forward-to-cementing-my-place-at-alpine\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">Jack Doohan<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2024\/09\/09\/why-baku-will-be-oliver-bearmans-first-litmus-test-in-f1\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">Ollie Bearman<\/a> began their F1 rookie campaigns while <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2025\/01\/06\/oscar-piastri-demands-more-from-himself-in-2025\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">Oscar Piastri<\/a> &#8211; no longer the youngest on the grid &#8211; had a steady session.<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-media-max-width=\"560\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\"><a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/F1TESTING?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#F1TESTING<\/a> DAY 1: MORNING SESSION \ud83d\udc40<\/p>\n<p>A strong start from 18-year-old Kimi Antonelli <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/F1?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#F1<\/a> <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/wQZXCXLTO6\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/wQZXCXLTO6<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Formula 1 (@F1) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/F1\/status\/1894709698579861564?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">February 26, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><strong>READ MORE:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2025\/02\/26\/kimi-antonelli-fastest-in-first-morning-session-of-bahrain-tests\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">Kimi Antonelli Fastest in First Morning Session of Bahrain Tests<\/a><\/p>\n<h3>F1 Pre-Season Testing Day 1 Morning Session: Norris Powers Through<\/h3>\n<p data-start=\"0\" data-end=\"175\">McLaren\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2025\/02\/24\/lando-norris-midfield-teams-could-trouble-the-top-four-in-2025\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">Lando Norris<\/a> ended the day <a href=\"https:\/\/www.formula1.com\/en\/latest\/article\/norris-sets-the-pace-as-first-day-of-pre-season-testing-in-bahrain-concludes.a38NkBReUGszqr0WlZNoJ\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">fastest<\/a>, posting a time 0.157s quicker than Mercedes\u2019 <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2025\/02\/24\/george-russell-mercedes-w16-should-be-a-clear-step-forward\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">George Russell<\/a>. Reigning champion <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2025\/01\/02\/max-verstappen-willing-to-cross-a-line-for-title-success\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">Max Verstappen<\/a> secured third for Red Bull.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"177\" data-end=\"337\">A key takeaway from F1 Pre-Season Testing Day 1 is that Mercedes and Red Bull placed each of their cars inside the top ten.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"177\" data-end=\"337\">Kimi Antonelli and Liam Lawson finished seventh and eighth, respectively.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"339\" data-end=\"461\">Williams also managed to get their drivers into the top ten, with <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2025\/02\/24\/carlos-sainz-expects-half-a-year-adaptation-period-at-williams\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">Carlos Sainz<\/a> in fifth and Alex Albon in ninth. This bodes well for Sainz who switched from Ferrari to the British team.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"463\" data-end=\"602\" data-is-last-node=\"\" data-is-only-node=\"\">Charles Leclerc took his Ferrari to fourth, while Alpine\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2024\/08\/02\/pierre-gasly-critical-of-alpine-not-good-enough\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">Pierre Gasly<\/a> secured sixth. For Gasly, this is impressive and highlights Alpine&#8217;s desire for more in 2025.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"463\" data-end=\"602\" data-is-last-node=\"\" data-is-only-node=\"\">Racing Bulls\u2019 Yuki Tsunoda completed the top ten.<\/p>\n<h3>The Rankings<\/h3>\n<table width=\"1402\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"200\">1<\/td>\n<td width=\"200\">Lando Norris<\/td>\n<td width=\"200\">McLaren<\/td>\n<td width=\"200\">1:30.430<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"200\">2<\/td>\n<td width=\"200\">George Russell<\/td>\n<td width=\"200\">Mercedes<\/td>\n<td width=\"200\">1:30.587<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"200\">3<\/td>\n<td width=\"200\">Max Verstappen<\/td>\n<td width=\"200\">Red Bull<\/td>\n<td width=\"200\">1:30.674<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"200\">4<\/td>\n<td width=\"200\">Charles Leclerc<\/td>\n<td width=\"200\">Ferrari<\/td>\n<td width=\"200\">1:30.878<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"200\">5<\/td>\n<td width=\"200\">Carlos Sainz<\/td>\n<td width=\"200\">Williams<\/td>\n<td width=\"200\">1:30.955<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"200\">6<\/td>\n<td width=\"200\">Pierre Gasly<\/td>\n<td width=\"200\">Alpine<\/td>\n<td width=\"200\">1:31.353<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"200\">7<\/td>\n<td width=\"200\">Andrea Kimi Antonelli<\/td>\n<td width=\"200\">Mercedes<\/td>\n<td width=\"200\">1:31.428<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"200\">8<\/td>\n<td width=\"200\">Liam Lawson<\/td>\n<td width=\"200\">Red Bull<\/td>\n<td width=\"200\">1:31.560<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"200\">9<\/td>\n<td width=\"200\">Alex Albon<\/td>\n<td width=\"200\">Williams<\/td>\n<td width=\"200\">1:31.573<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"200\">10<\/td>\n<td width=\"200\">Yuki Tsunoda<\/td>\n<td width=\"200\">Racing Bulls<\/td>\n<td width=\"200\">1:31.610<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"200\">11<\/td>\n<td width=\"200\">Isack Hadjar<\/td>\n<td width=\"200\">Racing Bulls<\/td>\n<td width=\"200\">1:31.631<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"200\">12<\/td>\n<td width=\"200\">Gabriel Bortoleto<\/td>\n<td width=\"200\">Sauber<\/td>\n<td width=\"200\">1:31.690<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"200\">13<\/td>\n<td width=\"200\">Lewis Hamilton<\/td>\n<td width=\"200\">Ferrari<\/td>\n<td width=\"200\">1:31.834<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"200\">14<\/td>\n<td width=\"200\">Jack Doohan<\/td>\n<td width=\"200\">Alpine<\/td>\n<td width=\"200\">1:31.841<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"200\">15<\/td>\n<td width=\"200\">Fernando Alonso<\/td>\n<td width=\"200\">Aston Martin<\/td>\n<td width=\"200\">1:31.874<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"200\">16<\/td>\n<td width=\"200\">Lance Stroll<\/td>\n<td width=\"200\">Aston Martin<\/td>\n<td width=\"200\">1:31.949<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"200\">17<\/td>\n<td width=\"200\">Oscar Piastri<\/td>\n<td width=\"200\">McLaren<\/td>\n<td width=\"200\">1:32.084<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"200\">18<\/td>\n<td width=\"200\">Nico Hulkenberg<\/td>\n<td width=\"200\">Sauber<\/td>\n<td width=\"200\">1:32.169<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"200\">19<\/td>\n<td width=\"200\">Esteban Ocon<\/td>\n<td width=\"200\">Haas<\/td>\n<td width=\"200\">1:33.600<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"200\">20<\/td>\n<td width=\"200\">Oliver Bearman<\/td>\n<td width=\"200\">Haas<\/td>\n<td width=\"200\">1:35.522<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p><strong>YOU MAY ALSO LIKE:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2025\/02\/24\/indycar-101-the-indycar\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">IndyCar 101: The IndyCar<\/a><\/p>\n<h3>The Next Two Days<\/h3>\n<p><span data-tt=\"{}\">With pre-season testing continuing across the next two days, teams will focus on fine-tuning their cars and strategies. Day 1 was relatively calm with things looking good for all. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-tt=\"{}\">Whether this is an accurate picture of the season to come remains to be seen. <\/span>The following days are crucial for all teams as they prepare for lights out in Australia.<\/p>\n<p><strong>READ MORE:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2025\/02\/25\/helmut-marko-hamilton-can-continue-where-he-left-off-in-2021\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">Helmut Marko: Hamilton \u201cCan Continue Where He Left Off\u201d in 2021<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Main Photo<\/p>\n<p>IMAGO \/\u00a0Eibner<\/p>\n<p>Recording Date: 26.02.2025<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>F1 pre-season day 1 at the Bahrain International Circuit saw teams focus on getting the laps in. Mercedes&#8217; Kimi Antonelli set the tone in the morning, while Lando Norris took charge in the afternoon session. What We&#8217;ve Learned from Day 1 of F1 Pre-Season Testing F1 pre-season day 1 began with teams focusing on performance [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5233,"featured_media":31014,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2,4],"tags":[1295,2016,343,445,2452,84,1450,444,76,1755,79,66,121,1581],"class_list":["post-31002","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-formula-1","tag-alex-albon","tag-andrea-kimi-antonelli","tag-carlos-sainz","tag-charles-leclerc","tag-f1-2025-season","tag-ferrari","tag-george-russell","tag-lando-norris","tag-lewis-hamilton","tag-liam-lawson","tag-max-verstappen","tag-mclaren","tag-mercedes","tag-yuki-tsunoda"],"modified_by":"Emma Fisher","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31002","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5233"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31002"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31002\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":31020,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31002\/revisions\/31020"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/31014"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31002"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31002"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31002"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}