Mercedes outlines Bahrain test focus after successful Barcelona shakedown

Mercedes heads to the crucial pre-season tests in Bahrain with confidence after a highly productive three-day shakedown in Barcelona, where George Russell and rookie Kimi Antonelli completed 502 laps in the new W15. The team's trackside engineering director, Andrew Shovlin, confirmed all initial objectives were met, allowing the focus to shift squarely to performance optimization ahead of the season opener.

Why it matters:

A smooth and efficient pre-season testing program is critical for unlocking a car's potential from the very first race. After two difficult seasons under the current regulations, Mercedes' ability to methodically check reliability boxes early and then pivot to fine-tuning performance in Bahrain could be a key indicator of whether the team has genuinely closed the gap to Red Bull and Ferrari.

The details:

• The Barcelona shakedown and an earlier Silverstone run served primarily as system checks and reliability validation, objectives which Shovlin stated were "pretty much" all ticked off.
• With basic functionality confirmed, the upcoming Bahrain tests will have a distinctly different goal: performance exploration.
• Shovlin emphasized that the cold conditions in Barcelona made meaningful setup work irrelevant for the typical race temperatures teams will face.
• Bahrain provides a vital opportunity to understand how the W15 performs in representative thermal conditions, affecting both chassis behavior and overall system efficiency.

What's next:

The pre-season schedule splits the Bahrain running into two segments: a test from February 11-13, followed by the final pre-season outing on February 18-20.

• The first test will focus on setup exploration and validating the car's performance in warmer conditions.
• The final test is earmarked for pure race preparation, including simulated qualifying runs and race simulations to prepare for every scenario of the opening Grand Prix weekend.
• This structured approach suggests Mercedes is entering 2025 with a clear and confident plan to hit the ground running.