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Mercedes encountered an early problem during FP1 at the Bahrain Grand Prix, with Kimi Antonelli limping back to the pits after just three laps after reporting a loss of power. The Italian rookie is joined by Frederik Vesti in the opposite car for the first practice session around the circuit in Sakhir.
Kimi Antonelli started the FP1 session at the Bahrain International Circuit on Friday as the only permanent driver driving a Mercedes car, with the Silver Arrows opting to put in youngster Frederik Vesti into George Russell's car for the practice session. The Danish youngster is five years older than Antonelli, but has not driven in F1 yet.
Right at the beginning of the session, Antonelli, who is the lead Mercedes for the FP1 session this weekend at least, complained on the team radio about a loss of power, after just 3 laps out on the track. The issue arose due to a suspected engine overheating.
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Live on air, Sky Sports pit lane reporter Ted Kravtiz reported that the reason for the loss of power on the young Italian's car was due to a loss of water pressure. The modern F1 power-units use liquid cooling systems to regulate engine temperature, so a loss of water pressure would naturally amount to engine overheating.
At the time of writing, Antonelli is still sitting in the garage with 22 minutes of the FP1 session to go, as the rookie has already lost valuable time during the practice session.
Frederik Vesti also had a wobbly start to his first and only session during the race weekend, as the 23-year-old had a big slide into turn one during his initial runs in the W16. The Dane has been Mercedes' test driver since 2024, after he replaced Mick Schumacher in this role.
Mercedes is already focusing the majority of their energy on building the 2026 car, claims technical director
Mercedes technical director James Allison has revealed that the Silver Arrows are mainly focusing on developing their 2026 car and will only push to develop the 2025 car to their maximum capacity in the first quarter of the season. The Silver Arrows currently sit second in the constructors' standings, just behind McLaren.
Speaking to Motorsport.com on Friday, Allison commented on where the development focus lies for Mercedes in the coming year.
"I think any team that has got a bit of common sense will still be putting a good chunk of their effort towards the future because the 2026 rules are such a tear-up from these ones," said Allison.
"These ones have just got 21 races left to go, and then they're done. We're trying to push as much as we can onto the car in this first quarter/third, of the year, and maybe we'll have some bits after that, but it's a lot of effort going into the future."
Allison also revealed that the first big development package that the Brackley-based outfit will bring is currently scheduled for round 7, which is the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix, which will go ahead on May 18.
