Next up on our triple-header, we head west from Japan to Bahrain in the Middle East for the fourth round of the 2025 Formula One World Championship. Get the thoughts of Lance, Fernando and Mike from across the weekend.
Under the lights Fernando and Lance finished Sunday's Bahrain Grand Prix in P15 and P17.
Sunday round-up and reaction
As the sun set in Bahrain, Fernando began the race from P13 on the Medium tyre. Starting from P19, Lance opted for the Soft compound.
Both drivers had a clean start, with Fernando gaining a place to P12 and Lance retaining P19.
Lance and Fernando pitted for Hard tyres at the end of Lap 12 and Lap 16 respectively. They both made a second stop on Lap 33 under the safety car for another set of Hard tyres.
Racing resumed on Lap 36 with Fernando in P15 and Lance P19. They crossed the finish line in P16 and P18 respectively.
After the race, Nico Hülkenberg was disqualified, meaning both Fernando and Lance moved up a position in the final classification.
#18 | Lance Stroll | Race
"There's not much to say about today; it's been a really tough weekend for us. We are not where we want to be at the moment and we are pushing hard to change that.
"Let's see what learnings we can take from this race and how we do next week. The track characteristics in Jeddah are quite different so let's see how we do there, although we are not expecting any big jumps."
#14 | Fernando Alonso | Race
"We didn't have the pace all weekend and especially tonight. I was extending my stint on the Medium tyres, but then the Safety Car balanced everything again and we didn't really benefit from it.
"We expected it to be a difficult track for us and we need to try improve the car for future races. It's a different challenge in Jeddah, so let's see if we can be any better next week."
Mike Krack | Chief Trackside Officer
"A tough weekend and an uneventful race, which did not present much of an opportunity to progress up the field. We lacked outright pace today – on all the tyre compounds – and we were not in the fight for points.
"The Safety Car did not help our cause either with most drivers able to pit and maintain position. We will continue to reflect on how we can improve across all areas ahead of Jeddah."
Next up
The triple-header comes to an end as we head to the Jeddah Corniche Circuit for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix on 18-20 April.
Saturday
In the weekend's final Free Practice session, both drivers held back in the garage with conditions on track extremely hot.
Fernando and Lance used FP3 to collect data on the Soft compound tyre. They finished the session in P15 and P17 respectively.
The wind picked up as Qualifying started, and both drivers went out on the Soft compound tyre.
After his initial lap time was deleted for track limits, Lance's following laps weren't enough for him to progress to Q2.
A red flag interrupted the early stages of Q2. When the session resumed, Fernando set a time of 1:31.886 and qualified P13.
#18 | Lance Stroll | Qualifying
"The setup didn't feel quite right today, the ride height was way too high as it turned out, so it was difficult to turn the car around the corners.
"We always knew coming to Bahrain this wasn't going to be an easy weekend for us, so now we need to do some work and see if there's anything we can change ahead of tomorrow."
#14 | Fernando Alonso | Qualifying
"We maximised our Qualifying tonight with P13 on the grid for tomorrow's race. For Q1 we used three sets of Softs and made it through. We were then quite limited with our options for Q2, and we didn't have any new sets of Soft tyres left.
"We haven't had the pace all weekend, so I think it could be a challenging race for us tomorrow. We will keep fighting and hopefully be close to the points."
Mike Krack | Chief Trackside Officer
"We got things completely wrong with Lance's car today. The ride height setup was incorrect, which created high levels of understeer, and cost him significant laptime and a chance to qualify higher up the grid.
"Fernando put in a solid performance on a set of Used Softs and will start from P13. We need to learn and reflect on this session and come back stronger tomorrow."
Friday
Our Test and Reserve driver Felipe took to the track during FP1 in the AMR25, replacing Fernando for the 60-minute session.
Both Felipe and Lance collected valuable data during the first session on the Hard and Soft tyre compound.
Fernando was back in the AMR25 for FP2, but an issue with his steering meant he had to return to the garage after only two laps.
Our mechanics made quick work of fixing Fernando's AMR25, getting him back on track for the second half of the session.
Under the lights, Lance continued collecting data across different tyre compounds in more representative conditions.
#18 | Lance Stroll | Free Practice
"I think we were on the back foot today so we'll see what we can come up with tonight after looking at the data. With the nature of the circuit, I don't think it's going to be an easy weekend for us, so there is going to be some work to do."
#14 | Fernando Alonso | Free Practice
"I think it's going to be a tough weekend. Before coming here, the characteristics of Bahrain was a concern for us and our package, but we will learn and see what we can do the rest of the weekend.
"We had an issue with the steering early in FP2, but the mechanics were able to change the parts and it was okay after that, so thank you everyone in the garage for getting it fixed quickly."
#34 | Felipe Drugovich | Free Practice
"It was pretty tricky out there, probably the lowest grip I've ever driven and different to the conditions I have driven in before. It was quite challenging, but once I got a feel for it I put a lap together which was okay.
"I felt a bit rusty because it's been a while since i've been in these cars, but it's always a pleasure and I really enjoyed myself."
Our Bahrain Grand Prix in numbersOur Bahrain Grand Prix in numbers
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