F1 pundit reacts to Lewis Hamilton almost matching 2024 F1 season's pole position time during the pre-season test

Lewis Hamilton logged a lap time of 1:29.379 in the morning session of Day 2 of the 2025 preseason test in Bahrain. He almost matched the 2025 F1 season's pole position timing of the Bahrain GP, and F1 pundit Karun Chandok deemed it an encouraging sign.

The 2025 F1 pre-season test in Bahrain entered Day 2 on Thursday, February 27. For the morning session, Scuderia Ferrari fielded new entrant Hamilton. As he dressed in his race suit, team chairman John Elkann made a special appearance in the garage to meet the British driver.

Meanwhile, the seven-time world champion logged promising lap times in his SF-25.

At the end of the morning session, the Brit had completed 45 laps and topped the charts with the fastest lap time of 1:29.379, which is only two-tenths slower than Max Verstappen's pole position time (1:29.179) that he set during the 2024 Bahrain Grand Prix.

Meanwhile, Sky Sports F1 pundit Karun Chandok reacted to Lewis Hamilton's sensational lap and said:

"Yesterday it just looked like the front of the car wasn't quite there for Lewis, but today it certainly looked like, while the circuit has improved and everyone is going a second quicker, he had a car underneath him that he could turn and manipulate a corner like he wants."

He added:

"I think that's an encouraging sign for him and his legion of fans out there, who really want him to succeed at Ferrari."

Hamilton finished P5 on Day 1 of the preseason test. He drove for over 70 laps but was much slower as compared to Day 2. However, his Day 2 stint was hampered by rain, as he could only log 45 laps.

Meanwhile, for the second session in the afternoon, Scuderia Ferrari has fielded Monegasque driver Charles Leclerc, who also showed promising signs in SF-25.

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Ferrari's setup for Lewis Hamilton's car baffles Ted Kravitz

Lewis Hamilton (Image Source: Getty)

Scuderia Ferrari began Day 2 proceedings of the 2025 pre-season test with Lewis Hamilton taking a spin in the SF-25 in the morning session. However, the car's aero setup confused F1 analyst Ted Kravitz.

Talking to Sky Sports, Kravitz said, via crash.net:

“Let’s look at the aeroprobe on the front; it’s really quite peculiar and unlike anything I’ve ever seen. It’s a head-on probe, just measuring the air as it hits the central section of the nose.

"You can see the wiring goes into the cooling hole near the Prancing Horse badge because there’s no other way to wire it. It’s lower than the front wing, lower than Hamilton would expect the ground clearance to be."

Lewis Hamilton said earlier that he needed to put in more work to adjust himself to the SF-25 model, as he was not satisfied with his comfort with the car.