The new season is fast approaching, and testing was well underway this past week in Bahrain. While F1 fans are usually excited for testing since it means the season is almost here, the 2025 testing sessions were much more interesting than past sessions.
One of the things fans noticed was that the 2025 graphics are a little different from 2024’s. Overall, they look less aesthetically pleasing than last year and feel less dynamic than previous years’ graphics. They also had trouble with the graphics over testing as well. When showing Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) on screen, the graphics said “Mercedes.” Another time, the “Replay”, rather than showing an event on screen, just showed a truck driving near the track.
One of the most discussed occurrences at testing was the power outage. Even the drivers were surprised that this happened. While there were many delays within the season due to rain and other weather-related events, nothing ever happened that directly resulted in a power outage. Luckily, this happened during testing rather than during an actual 2025 race. Despite the inclement weather, resulting in many “Ba-Rain”-related puns, the power outage stood out among the other delays.
Testing was also the first official time that we got to see the rookies on track. Some of them did better than others, with rookies like Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) performing fairly well. Carlos Sainz (Williams) was deemed the fastest in testing overall. Even so, he has said many times that his fans shouldn’t expect him to get on the podium for a while. Despite Sainz insisting this will be the case, fans are hopeful about what his top time will mean for him and the Williams team.
The “High-Octane Herald” is written by Ava O’Donnell and details the latest Formula One news regarding races and current events.