McLaren is "clearly in the lead," while Red Bull is set to install new components.

      Following two of the three days of official pre-season testing in Bahrain, the ranking for 2025 is starting to take shape.

      "McLaren is clearly in the lead," reports the well-respected German magazine Auto Motor und Sport, a day after Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff stated that Lando Norris was "on a planet of his own." This observation comes despite Carlos Sainz from Williams topping the timesheets on Thursday, following a low-fuel qualifying run.

      Team principal James Vowles is pragmatic: "I believe the top four will remain the top four," he mentioned, referencing McLaren, Ferrari, Red Bull, and Mercedes. Lewis Hamilton, who has taken over from Sainz at Ferrari, was watched from the garage by the chairman of the Italian team, John Elkann. The seven-time world champion shared that he is "slowly bonding" with his red car, slightly outpacing teammate Charles Leclerc on Thursday.

      Regarding Red Bull, Max Verstappen commented after his initial run in the 2025 car on Wednesday that it has improved "in all areas," adding, "But it couldn’t have gotten worse." New components for the car, which closely resembles the 2024 version, will be incorporated into the RB21 for the final day on Friday. "They won't have a significant impact," technical director Pierre Wache told Sky Italia. "They were originally scheduled for Melbourne, but since they are ready, we’ll attempt to push a bit. We're doing this to check if we're heading in the right direction."

      Liam Lawson was nearly a full second off the leading pace on Thursday. "Let's wait until Max (Verstappen) is back in the car," suggested Red Bull advisor Dr. Helmut Marko. When asked about the superior pace of McLaren, Ferrari, and even Mercedes in Bahrain, he added, "They appeared very competitive today, but we also experienced a cooling issue and lost a considerable amount of time." Regarding Lawson, while he may be somewhat off the pace, Marko pointed out that "he hasn't done anything wrong."

      In general, given how tightly packed the field is for this final season under the current regulations, fuel load and engine modes are significantly influencing laptimes more than usual. "We won't be able to determine the order in a cold, wet Bahrain," Vowles from Williams concurred.

      Quadruple consecutive world champion Verstappen shares this sentiment. "There's no point," he told reporters when asked about predicting the order. "You can speculate on how much fuel everyone is using and their engine modes, but after ten years, I’m a bit over that."