PREVIEW: F1 ACADEMY in-season testing continues with three days running in Sakhir

Following on from the penultimate round in Singapore, the 2025 F1 ACADEMY grid makes its way to the Bahrain International Circuit for the fourth in-season test.

The Sakhir track hosts the series for the first time and provides teams and drivers one last chance to finalise their preparations ahead of the Las Vegas season finale next month.

WHAT TO EXPECT

Running from October 28-30, a total of 18 hours of track time will be available across the three days of testing and seven sets of Pirelli tyres have been allocated to each car.

Running gets underway on all three days at 09:00 local time (UTC+3), with the morning segment ending at 12:00. On Tuesday and Wednesday, the afternoon sessions will get back underway at 14:00 and finish at 17:00.

There will be a shorter lunch break on Day 3, with the final afternoon session commencing at 13:00 and concluding an hour earlier at 16:00.

Following recent surgery on her left foot, TAG Heuer driver Aiva Anagnostiadis will not take part in this week’s in-season test at Bahrain International Circuit. Rachel Robertson, who recently participated in the F1 ACADEMY Rookie Test in Navarra, will step into the TAG Heuer-liveried Hitech TGR car at the three-day test.

Additionally, Red Bull Ford's Chloe Chambers and McLaren driver Ella Lloyd will be absent from the final day of running as the pair will be participating in the Formula E Women's Test in Valencia on October 31.

THE FIELD

• Only two drivers remain in the fight for the 2025 F1 ACADEMY title and Mercedes’ Doriane Pin and Ferrari’s Maya Weug have set the stage for the closest season finale yet, as only nine points separate the two drivers with 39 points left to play for.
• Sitting in seventh, Alba Larsen is the highest-placed driver yet to score a podium this season, recording her sixth top-five finish in Singapore Race 2.
• Lloyd was the driver to beat during the last in-season test in Navarra, clocking in a 1:46.259 to go 0.073s faster than Weug.
• Two drivers on the 2025 grid have previously raced at the Bahrain International Circuit, with Pin competing in the 2023 8 Hours of Bahrain and Nina Gademan scoring two podiums at the opening round of the F4 Saudi Arabian Championship at the Sakhir circuit earlier this month.
• The 5.412km Grand Prix Circuit layout of the Bahrain International Circuit features 15 turns.

KEEP UP TO DATE

Follow the Bahrain in-season test on the F1 ACADEMY website with end-of-day recaps after the chequered flag on each of the three days, followed by driver reactions.