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Alpine driver Pierre Gasly was bewildered with McLaren's pace as he saw Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri flying past him. During the FP3 session of the 2025 Bahrain GP, Gasly commented on the Papaya team's pace on his team radio.
McLaren has undoubtedly been the fastest team on the grid this year. They won two races comfortably in Australia and China before Max Verstappen halted their winning streak in Japan. However, in Bahrain, the Papaya team has come out on top again.
On Friday (April 11), Lando Norris topped the FP1 session, whereas Oscar Piastri was quicker than his teammate in the evening session. Not only that, even during the FP3 session held on Saturday, McLaren was quicker than the rest of the grid.
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That being said, the Papaya team's pace left Alpine driver Pierre Gasly stunned. During the FP3 session, he said (via his team radio):
"I can't believe how fast these McLarens are at the moment."
Zak Brown and his team have certainly leveled up their game this season after they won the constructors championship last year in a dramatic turnaround in the second half. They are ahead of Red Bull in terms of overall pace and performance.
However, the Bulls expect McLaren's pace to take a hit after the 2025 Spanish Grand Prix. FIA is set to cut down the front wing flexibility limit, and many believe that McLaren's advantage will likely be cut down.
That being said, despite the Woking-based squad dominating the practice sessions, Lando Norris issued a word of caution. He believes the track conditions are different in Bahrain, and it will be difficult for him to keep Max Verstappen at bay on Sunday. While the free practice sessions show a different picture, a lot will depend on how the qualifying session pans out.
Lando Norris downplays McLaren's pace advantage
While McLaren has appeared as the fastest team on the grid in Bahrain, Lando Norris has downplayed his team's advantage of pace. He explained that the engine will play a big role in setting the pecking order this week. Talking to the BBC, he said:
"Everyone just looks at the timesheets. They have no idea on the information on who turns up (the engine). It's (worth) like 0.35 secs around here. That immediately puts us back in the same position as the Mercedes, so at the minute I wouldn't say we're any quicker."
While Lando Norris has downplayed the hype around McLaren's pace, the free practice session results paint a different picture. Red Bull, on the other hand, is struggling to overcome loss of time per lap. Max Verstappen participated in the FP2 session on Friday, and his time was only good enough to land him in P7 position. His teammate, Yuki Tsunoda, slipped to P18.
