In Bahrain, the F1 tests came to an end with bad expectations for Spaniards Fernando Alonso and Carlos Sainz and their teams. Although during the days of testing, many placed the Williams car ahead of Aston Martin, that could have made a 180 degree turn. In the tests everything indicated that Sainz and Williams were the 5th team after McLaren, Ferrari, Red Bull and Mercedes. However, it seems that the test results would not be entirely reliable as the Spaniard’s team was testing different car configurations which lowered their performance, but would put them ahead in the Australian GP which will kick off the season.
During the Bahrain tests, Sainz’s fastest time came in a qualifying simulation on Thursday, and a similar race on Friday put his teammate Alex Albon at the top for a while, before he finished the last day in third place. The mid-table teams will find it difficult to catch up with the top teams, but the focus will be on the fight between them.
Williams seemed in good shape judging by the lap times of the regulars, while Aston Martin seemed to be in trouble. But the data from the teams suggests otherwise: the information behind the drivers’ numbers suggests that Aston Martin and Alpine are the best of the rest, followed by Williams, Racing Bulls and Haas, with Sauber closing the list, as BBC journalist Andrew Benson commented.
Aston Martin and Williams will not be fighting for podiums or victories
DAZN‘s race commentator Antonio Lobato has already lowered the expectations generated after the F1 tests with Fernando Alonso’s Aston Martin and Carlos Sainz’s Williams. “No podiums or victories for Aston Martin and Williams”.
Alonso and Aston Martin’s secret weapon
Luckily for Fernando Alonso and Aston Martin, Adrian Newey is now officially part of Aston Martin. He is not just a great engineer, he is an architect of champions. The Briton arrives after a successful stint at Red Bull and now Fernando hopes he will become his secret weapon to get back to the top of the F1 podium. Adrian Newey has made a long-term commitment to the Aston Martin Aramco Formula 1 team. The renowned British designer has already started working at the team’s headquarters in Silverstone since March 1, 2025, taking up a new position as Technical Managing Partner.
Pedro de la Rosa: “The Williams have really emptied themselves, we haven’t”
The Aston Martin team ambassador, Pedro de la Rosa, said after the Bahrain tests that his team had completed a much more discreet preseason because, unlike Williams, they had not been looking for fast laps. “We have focused more on improving the car to make it more predictable, which was the goal for 2025, a car that is easier to drive and obviously faster”.
“Optimistic? … I’m a realist. I think we’re going to have to improve and we’re going to have to grit our teeth like every year. But I’m optimistic in the sense that we’re very well equipped and we’re going to have a good team at all levels,” he said. De la Rosa is referring to Williams. “Carlos [Sainz] was first on Thursday. How many kilos do they have? Is it the team to beat? No, no. It means that they have really emptied themselves to be first and we have not emptied ourselves to be first. We have not done any [qualifying] simulations, but as we don’t know what the others have…” he argues.