Bahrain 2025 Pre-Season Testing: The Data-Driven Underbelly of F1
Calculating F1 data is like solving a quadratic formula on a chalkboard while sprinting; that messy, complex urgency is what pre-season testing is all about. With cars running at up to 260km/hr and generating several G’s of gravitational down force, the data that come out of these tests can be astounding; enter the small, unsung battalion of F1 scientists. Just out of sight are hundreds of data analysts fighting the numbers with the same ferocity as the drivers on the track. The arms race of F1 gets tucked away on race day, but during pre-season testing, these, at times, yes, lab-coated analysts are the real stars. With Bahrain 2025 pre-season testing getting the green flag on Friday, let's take a look at the unknown data-driven underbelly of F1.
Firstly, the track: the Sakhir International Circuit Bahrain track, different from the Gulf Air Bahrain Circuit dominated by Lewis Hamilton, is an ideal testing ground for the first practical application of the season. It’s been in use since 2004 but has been utilized consistently since 2021 due to its reliable and dry weather conditions. The track itself provides an accurate representation of the challenges teams will face on circuits around the world, featuring a combination of low, medium, and high-speed turns as well as long straights for gaining speed. This is encouraging since, as of today, the threat of rain seems to have passed as weather conditions are estimated to be around 60 degrees Fahrenheit with gusty winds.
Before testing, the only insight engineers and aerodynamicists have into their work is from the scaled-down model tested in the wind tunnel. These models are only around 50% to 60% the true size, as the FIA has implemented rigid regulations on vehicle testing since 2009. While the world champions are being crowned at the close of one season, F1 engineers are already testing new theories and designs for the next. Their first unsimulated results happen in real time at the training circuit.
Though no points are awarded and no trophies are at stake, pre-season testing provides unique opportunities for the teams that are not available at other times in the season. For their primetime part, drivers will make use of their precious 12 hours on the track, a feat easily observable on every major news network. However, also up for a first hands-on practice, the pit crew will have their first rehearsal with the car. Not to mention the team’s racing engineers mediate communication strategy with their drivers, and team principals easing the troubled foreseeing minds of media and sponsors. All this to say, a lot is going on behind the scenes.
Don’t let the flashy new liveries fool you, though. While the cars whirl around the track, the data scientists and engineers hang on every turn for an assessment of their work that is months in the making. For a team like McLaren, that can number around 100 aerodynamicists alone. Each car is loaded with hundreds of sensors, all feeding their data back to supercomputers, which will then compile a model to be analyzed. The car is also outfitted with tie-dye-like “flow-vis” that provide a visual representation of a car’s aerodynamic capability.
With new cars hitting the track for the first time on Friday, pre-season testing is a display of driver skill and team ingenuity. Theories and conspiracies already abound about how new driver line-ups will perform, and, as always, testing is sure to add fuel to the flame. But pre-season testing is about more than the drivers, and first impressions are often deceiving. For those who don’t know, training is as much about the F1 data analysts and engineers as it is about the drivers. Testing is the result of months of hands-on wind tunnel research and the culmination of decades worth of knowledge that makes every season better than the last. Pre-season testing is for the data analysts.
