Amid question marks about fuel loads, run plans and engine modes on day one of 2025 Formula 1 testing, what can't be hidden is how the cars look on track.
Watch from trackside for enough time, and at different corners, and you are guaranteed to see every car being leaned on in a way that will expose its traits. That's what makes following pre-season testing from behind the tyre barriers so fascinating. Every time a car passes, you grab a snapshot for assimilation into the growing tapestry of understanding.
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All 20 drivers ran on the first day in 2025, offering a whistle-stop tour of the key players for the coming season. As a result, we can tease out early signs of the car characteristics we will soon become familiar with.
These impressions are drawn from trips to watch trackside both in the 'morning' and 'afternoon' running in Bahrain and should be regarded as nothing more definitive than first impressions.
By design, this article paints in broad brushstrokes given the nature of the day - and will be further refined as the test progresses. But as everyone knows, first impressions really do count.
McLaren
During the first half of the day, the McLaren is largely anonymous, which is down to Oscar Piastri's run plan rather than anything fundamentally problematic with the car. It does everything it should do, but rarely looks alive.
That changes in the afternoon, with the pace upped and Lando Norris providing tentative evidence that the car could live up to its billing as pre-season favourite.
While it lacks the responsiveness of turn-in that the Ferrari occasionally exhibits, it is more consistent, rotates well through the corners and has good traction. If you have to pick a car from day one purely based on how it looks from trackside, the McLaren is it - just.
Ferrari
The first impression of the Ferrari, with Lewis Hamilton at the wheel at the Turn 4 right-hander, is that it's responsive on turn-in - good news given both he and Charles Leclerc like a strong front end.
Read more: Our first impression of Hamilton + Ferrari from testing
However, it soon becomes clear that there's a fine line between responsive and a little too responsive and Hamilton has a few small moments - and also occasions when understeer becomes the limitation. Likewise, a little later a lockup into the Turn 8 right-hander shows how hard the car is being pushed. But fundamentally, the car looks lively.
In Leclerc's hands later in the day it seems more consistent, perhaps a consequence of a driver having to experiment less.
The signs are promising but, equally, the Ferrari appears to be doing a little too much at times, which suggests the ideal window has yet to be found despite an encouraging mixed bag from the trackside vantage point.
Red Bull
The Red Bull RB21 appears strong in the morning, with Liam Lawson confident. But as he leans on the car more it appears to get a little trickier - with a spin at Turn 3, heard but not seen, confirming that the car can bite.
Watching Max Verstappen at the tight Turn 10 left-hander in the afternoon is fascinating, as on multiple occasions he can't get the nose in as he wants and runs wide. On other laps, he hooks it into the apex well.
Given Red Bull's problems last year it raises questions about whether the balance limitations of the car really have been cured, albeit with the caveat that Verstappen and the team are likely experimenting.
The car still looks fast, but also ready to catch the driver out and that makes it one of the most interesting cars to watch closely over the next two days.
Mercedes
Dangerous as it is to draw such conclusions about any Mercedes in this ground effect era, the W16 appears to give both Kimi Antonelli and George Russell genuine confidence. At times, perhaps a little too much confidence for Antonelli, although any moments he had are minor.
With Russell at the wheel, it looks even more convincing and, crucially, consistent.
In terms of giving the driver a predictable, responsive platform it looks to have an edge over the Red Bull and Ferrari at this stage - but whether it has the pace is unclear.
Aston Martin
Aston Martin's stated aim is for the 2025 car to be more benign and stable than its predecessor. Based on watching trackside on day one, those objectives have been achieved.
The car is compliant and consistent in the morning to the point where you wonder if Alonso is conservatively rolling round. But in the afternoon, with Stroll at the wheel, the car still looks confidence-inspiring as he's able to attack Turn 10.
The only question mark is how quick the car is overall, something clouded by a day when it didn't maximise the available running, although it should be in the midfield mix.
Alpine
What a difference a year makes, as from early on the Alpine looks vastly more together than the 2024 car did at any point pre-season.
There are hints of imbalance, at times with slightly disconnected runs through the slower corners - in particular at Turn 10 - but the car generally appears planted.
Who was fastest on day one in Bahrain? Full report + times
There are a few glimpses of rear instability under braking, notably in the downhill approach to the Turn 8 right-hander, but this isn't persistent.
Perhaps the best sign is that Pierre Gasly, who thrives with a car that allows him to attack the entries with confidence, is able to do just that. It certainly looks in the mix at the front of the midfield in terms of the eye test.
Haas
Given Haas remains resolutely determined to focus its efforts on high-fuel running, a strategy that worked in 2024, Ollie Bearman and Esteban Ocon spent the day in the lower reaches of the timesheets.
This also meant that of all the cars, the Haas was inevitably the one that looked least lively.
As you might expect, there's mid-corner understeer evident on some runs, and it doesn't look the easiest car through the high-speed Esses at Turns 5-7, but that's perhaps to be expected given fuel loads.
Consistency was the car's strength last year, and early signs are it could be the same again for the VF-25.
Racing Bulls
The Racing Bulls car rarely grabs the attention either for good or bad reasons, perhaps making it the most midfield car of all to the eye.
That's not a bad thing and the car seems reasonably well balanced, albeit with the front-end limitation in the slower corners that all suffer from to a greater or lesser extent.
Williams
The Williams is one of the most consistently interesting cars to watch from trackside.
At times, it's visibly responding to bumps more than its rivals, albeit without causing any particular problems, and appears relatively responsive on turn-in.
However, there are perhaps more occasions than drivers Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz would ideally like when a little rear instability shows up under braking and requires an adjustment.
The positive is that, while it might not be the most consistent car among the midfield pack, at times it looks the most impressive.
Sauber
The Sauber C45 is the car you would least like to be driving early on. Nico Hulkenberg struggles for traction and front-end grip in the slower corners, with hints of oversteer in the fast stuff.
Fortunately, Sauber soon dials this out and it quickly looks much more together. That said, it doesn't catch the eye even though once the set-up had evolved some of the mechanical problems that limited it at times last year have been eliminated.
Day one times
1 Norris (McLaren) 1m30.430s
2 Russell (Mercedes) +0.157s
3 Verstappen (Red Bull) +0.244s
4 Leclerc (Ferrari) +0.448s
5 Sainz (Williams) +0.525s
6 Gasly (Alpine) +0.923s
7 Antonelli (Mercedes) +0.998s
8 Lawson (Red Bull) +1.130s
9 Albon (Williams) +1.143s
10 Tsunoda (Racing Bulls) +1.180s
11 Hadjar (Racing Bulls) +1.201s
12 Bortoleto (Sauber) +1.260s
13 Hamilton (Ferrari) +1.404s
14 Doohan (Alpine) +1.411s
15 Alonso (Aston Martin) +1.444s
16 Stroll (Astin Martin) +1.519s
17 Piastri (McLaren) +1.654s
18 Hulkenberg (Sauber) +1.739s
19 Ocon (Haas) +3.170s
20 Bearman (Haas) +5.092s
