Red Bull will run a film day the day before the F1 test in Bahrain – Max Verstappen and Liam Lawson to take first RB21 laps
The F1 teams will officially test their cars for the new season in Bahrain from February 26-28, 2025. Red Bull will only conduct a filming day on the track the day before to allow Max Verstappen and Liam Lawson to complete the first laps with the RB21. Each team is allowed to cover a maximum of 200 kilometers on two days for filming purposes, and only Pirelli demo tires may be used.
Although it is not an official test, the tires do not meet the specifications for the season and the mileage is limited, the teams use these days to identify possible teething problems on the new car before the official test. So far, Red Bull has used Silverstone for this, but in 2025 one of the test days will take place in Bahrain, as the Dutch edition of Motorsport.com has learned.
So Verstappen and Lawson will be in action in Bahrain on February 25, just one day before the three-day Formula 1 winter test starts at the same location. Red Bull will not officially present the RB21 in advance of the 2025 season, and Ferrari and Williams will not hold a launch either. Red Bull and other teams will present their designs on February 18 as part of the celebrations for the 75th anniversary of the premier class.
What has been changed on the cars will not yet be on display, as renderings or show cars will be used. But Red Bull technical director Pierre Wache has already revealed a tendency as to what the focus was on the new car. The balance is to be improved because there were problems in this area in 2024. Adjustments to the set-up did not work, which is why the philosophy of the Red Bull car was put to the test.
“That doesn’t mean we won’t be focusing on the rest, but we had to focus on the balance issues first,” said the Frenchman. He also wants to eliminate the weak points, because Verstappen did not have an optimal rear wing that provides little air resistance in Monza and Las Vegas. So on February 25, we will see for the first time what solutions Red Bull has found.
