RaceFans Round-up: 28th February 2025

Welcome to Friday’s edition of the RaceFans round-up.

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Testing in Bahrain: Day two report (Red Bull)

Liam Lawson: ‘As part of testing, we were fighting a few teething gremlins with the car through the day, it’s all about just learning about the new car. A few of our runs were cut short a little bit and we had to deal with the weather too, which wasn’t great timings for our run plan, as I imagine was the case for most of the pit lane.’

Pre-season testing: Day two recap (Haas)

Ayao Komatsu: ‘Unfortunately, just before the end of the day we had a slight car issue, so we had to stop running 20 minutes before the end of the session. We’ll fix it tonight and get going tomorrow though. I have to say, today’s test items and run program – we completed around 80 percent so it’s not been bad.’

Liberty Media Corporation reports fourth quarter and year end 2024 financial results (Liberty Media)

Formula 1 generated $791m (£627m) in income last year, an increase of 9% compared to 2023.

Qatar Thursday notebook (Sportscar 365)

‘BMW driver Robin Frijns said Hypercar drivers need to be ‘careful’ around the newly-installed gravel strips dotted on the outside of corners around the track as they have the potential to cause significant damage during the race. ‘I like those gravel (strips) in the sense of you know exactly where the limit is,’ Frijns said. ‘The only problem is that especially GTs will drive over it a lot and then you get like a ditch. When we drive over it, doing a mistake, we bottom out and we damage the floor completely.”

Powell wins as Olivieri crowned champion in F4 Middle East’s night race (Formula Scout)

‘There was drama before it began, as Yas Heat Academy’s Adam Al Azhari was found have used a modified clutch in race one and so was disqualified from victory. Olivieri inherited the win, putting him one step closer to the title.’

Honda’s ‘fightback’ plan for the IndyCar manufacturers’ battle (Racer)

‘We do a lot of competitor analysis. We have tools to do that. We look at it and go, ‘Oh, we’re good there, or we suck there, and if we suck, we’re going to try and do something about that.”

Las Vegas Grand Prix Plaza (Experience Formula 1 like never before)

‘Be among the first to experience the world’s largest immersive Formula 1 attraction, at Grand Prix Plaza in Las Vegas. Featuring thrilling, interactive experiences: F1 X, a 4D journey through a tech driven attraction; F1 Drive, kart racing powered by advanced DRS technology; and F1 Hub featuring state-of-the-art simulators, a flagship F1 store, and elevated restaurant and lounge offerings.’

Last three minutes in the Hypercar Hyperpole session (WEC via YouTube)

Pole lap (WEC via YouTube)

Round five race one (2025 Formula Regional Middle East Championship)

Round five race two (2025 Formula Regional Middle East Championship)

After one-and-a-half days of testing covering 1,055 kilometres, Carlos Sainz Jnr has finished his pre-season running for his new team.

Next time he’ll be on track will be practice in Melbourne two weeks from tomorrow.

#F1 #F1testing

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— RaceFans (@racefansdotnet.bsky.social) 27 February 2025 at 19:02

Ferrari will swap the running order of their drivers tomorrow. Leclerc will run first and Hamilton will appear in the second session, during which the team say he will perform a “qualifying and race simulation.”

#F1 #F1testing

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— RaceFans (@racefansdotnet.bsky.social) 27 February 2025 at 16:42