2025 F1 Pre-Season Test: One key target area for every team 

And just like that, the 2025 F1 pre-season test is upon us. The winter break is done and dusted. A few teams have shown the cars during their respective shakedowns, while others have kept things under wraps.

This all comes to an end in the first and only pre-season test in Bahrain, where the covers come off for the first time and cars hit the track.

For all the teams, however, what would be the one key target area that they would be focused on? Let's take a look.

2025 F1 Pre-Season Test

McLaren

For the reigning champions, the target in the first test would be to make sure that every change that has been made to the car, works. McLaren is one of the teams with probably the best understanding of the regulations on the entire grid. For McLaren, the 2025 F1 preseason test is all about stamping their authority on everybody else.

Ferrari

For Ferrari, the fact that the team is bringing a car that's 99% new is both a blessing and a scare because it means that the potential for growth is there, but at the same time, the probability of a misstep is also higher.

While the team would be hoping that Lewis Hamilton is also accommodated as much as possible, the focus would be on getting on top of the car characteristics of the SF-25.

Red Bull

For Red Bull, the biggest pre-season target was closing the gap to the front and doing so in a manner that the car doesn't lose its core balance. The biggest issue with the RB20 was the car's balance as it led the package into a window where even Max Verstappen couldn't tame it.

Red Bull has a two-pronged challenge - it has to build a faster car while keeping balance issues at bay. In the first test, this is precisely what the team would be trying to achieve.

Mercedes

The biggest issue for Mercedes last season was the overheating of the rear tires as it adversely impacted the tire life. This was also one of the reasons why the car was a beast on tracks where temperatures were lower. The team has hinted that this area has been addressed; a more consistent performance can be expected.

For the German team, the F1 pre-season test would be the first attempt to find out how confident they are in that specific area.

Aston Martin

For Aston Martin, the F1 pre-season test would be all about finding the right baseline for the car. The biggest struggle for the Silverstone-based team has been finding the correct window in which the car works perfectly. In Bahrain, that is precisely what the team would be looking to achieve.

Alpine

With the French team choosing to continue with the 2024 chassis, the work that needs to be done has considerably decreased. While that has happened, it also means that the team's upper bound limit for 2025 has also taken a hit.

While the team is unwilling to put too much stock into it, the preseason test would be all about ensuring the car is ready for Australia with whatever new bits have been added to it.

Haas F1

Haas does have a serious challenge on its hands because not only has the team gone in its own direction with the front suspension (compared to Ferrari), but it also has two drivers who have a very limited knowledge of the car.

How good both of them are is a debate for another day but getting both Ollie Bearman and Esteban Ocon up to speed is something that the team would be trying to accomplish, especially with the first round being in Australia, a track where things can go wrong very quickly.

V-Ca-RB

For the Red Bull sister team, the F1 pre-season test is all about getting the two drivers up to speed and getting the operations as well as car balance in place. The Faenza-based squad picks a lot of stuff from the main team, and it would be crucial to see how it responds to the challenge of having a rookie in the squad fresh out of F2.

Williams

Williams will be hoping to address the balance issues that plagued the car a bit in 2024. When a team has as many as 20 crashes in 24 races, it's not all on the drivers, and a bit of it does come back to the car. The Grove-based squad has learned from it and brought a friendlier challenger this time. It remains to be seen, however, whether the changes have had the desired impact.

Sauber F1

Sauber F1's pre-season test is crucial because this marks the beginning of its resurrection to the time when Audi first debuts in 2026. The team cannot perform at its current level and hopes things will be dramatically different in 2026.

Mattia Binotto understands that and has focused on developing the car and making it a midfield contender. The target for the test will be to lay down a foundation on which the team can continue to develop the car for 2025.