McLaren Well Ahead, Red Bull Rushes Upgrades

Two days into Bahrain’s three-day pre-season test, McLaren’s Lando Norris has the paddock buzzing. “McLaren is clearly ahead,” Auto Motor und Sport declared Friday, echoing Mercedes boss Toto Wolff’s quip that Norris is “on a planet of his own.” Williams’ Carlos Sainz may have snagged Thursday’s fastest lap—a 1’29”348 on a low-fuel C3 blast—but the Spaniard’s ex-team boss isn’t fooled.

James Vowles, now steering Williams, kept it blunt: “The top four will be the top four.” Translation: McLaren, Ferrari, Red Bull, and Mercedes are the ones to watch, qualifying sims be damned.

Over at Ferrari, Lewis Hamilton—Sainz’s replacement—drew eyes from chairman John Elkann in the garage. The seven-time champ clocked a 1’29”379, nipping Charles Leclerc’s 1’29”431 by 52 thousandths on C3s. “Slowly bonding,” Hamilton said, as the SF-25 flexed.

Red Bull, meanwhile, is playing catch-up. Max Verstappen, back behind the wheel Wednesday, called the RB21 better “in all areas” than last year’s ride—“it couldn’t have gotten worse,” he jabbed. New parts hit the car Friday, rushed in ahead of Melbourne’s opener. Technical director Pierre Wache downplayed the upgrade: “Not a big impact—just a check on our direction.” Liam Lawson, subbing Thursday, trailed the leaders by nearly a second. “Wait for Max,” advisor Helmut Marko shrugged, citing a cooling glitch that chewed up track time.

McLaren’s edge isn’t scaring Marko yet. “They looked quick, sure,” he said of the frontrunners, “but we’re not showing everything.” Quadruple consecutive world champion Verstappen fully agrees. “There is no point,” he told reporters when asked to predict the pecking order. “You can guess how much fuel everyone is using and which engine mode they’re in, but after ten years I’m a bit done with that.”

Williams’ Vowles nodded along: “Cold, wet Bahrain won’t spill the real order.” With the 2025 field tight under these rules, tyre choices and stint lengths are muddying the picture. Thursday’s 1,258 laps leaned hard on C3s (767), with C2s (238) and C1s (210) chewing up longer runs. Lawson’s teammate Yuki Tsunoda stretched a C1 stint to 25 laps; Sainz banked 127 total.

Friday’s final session runs 10:00 to 19:00 local time, with a 14:00-15:00 break. Expect Red Bull to push, but Norris might already have the last laugh.