Formula One: Liam Lawson puts in the work in final testing day at Bahrain ahead of season opener

Kiwi Formula One driver Liam Lawson has had a full day of testing in his new Red Bull car, covering the third most laps in Bahrain this morning without incident after a dramatic spin on day one.

Teammate and defending champion Max Verstappen took the day off as Lawson got around the track 91 times to post the seventh-best time of the day.

Lawson will next get into the RB21 at the Melbourne Grand Prix.

Liam Lawson prepares to drive during F1 testing in Bahrain. Photo / Red Bull Content Pool

“I am getting more comfortable in the car, it has been a busy day overall,” the Kiwi said after his session. “As part of testing, we were fighting a few teething gremlins with the car through the day, it’s all about just learning about the new car.

“A few of our runs were cut short a little bit and we had to deal with the weather too, which wasn’t great timings for our run plan, as I imagine was the case for most of the pitlane.”

Taking it a bit wide there, Liam! 🙃#F1Testing #F1 pic.twitter.com/RsWBPhZ3Ro

— Formula 1 (@F1) February 27, 2025

“All this work is extremely valuable going into Melbourne and we feel in a positive place. This is all the most important stuff when it comes to pre-season, this will be the last time I drive the car before Melbourne, to get things right and we are going to take from all of it, to put together the best-balanced car for the first race,” Lawson added.

Sainz leads the way on day two

Carlos Sainz put in a double shift, the Spaniard topping the times after covering twice the usual Bahrain Grand Prix race distance of 57 laps at the wheel of his new Williams.

Sainz clocked 1m 29.348s for the quickest lap on the middle day of three as the Formula One grid continued its preparations for the March 16 season-opener in Australia

Lewis Hamilton, whose stunning move to Ferrari set in motion Sainz’s arrival at the British team, looked in good shape again with the seven-time world champion only 0.031s off the pace.

In a sign that Sainz’s old team appear ready to hit the ground running in Melbourne, Charles Leclerc hauled the other Ferrari into third at 0.083s.

Mercedes duo George Russell and Kimi Antonelli came next ahead of Lance Stroll’s Aston Martin and Lawson.

Day 2 ✅

Here's how things stand at the end of another day of #F1Testing 💪#F1 pic.twitter.com/BntrAhWKfF

— Formula 1 (@F1) February 27, 2025

One driver hoping to deny the Dutchman a fifth successive crown is McLaren’s Lando Norris.

Last year’s championship runner-up, over a second and a half behind Sainz on Thursday, said he had no beef with Verstappen after a series of clashes between the pair last season.

“I know they’re going to be tough battles and I’m sure some of them are not always going to end the way I want or hopefully Max wants. But we’re racing drivers, I think we get along,” the Briton told a press conference.

“We respect each other a lot and we look forward to more racing on track.”

Norris was satisfied with his team’s showing ahead of Friday’s last day of fine-tuning.

“The car was feeling like last year, which is a good start,” he told Sky Sports.

“We’ve had our fair share of issues in the past coming to Bahrain, not starting off on the right foot, but things just feel normal, which is a good start.

“A lot of stuff has changed on the car, so for us to just go out and check everything, is a good start to the test. It really doesn’t matter if you’re first or last on day one, that only matters in Australia.

“You never know what fuel loads people are running, engine modes and things like that. For us, it’s just checking things and ticking some boxes. The last thing you want is to get to Australia and have some surprises. All good so far.”