Circuit length: 5.412km/3.363-mile (11th longest track of the year) Distance to Turn One: 400m/0.249 miles (longest of season: Barcelona, 730m/0.454 miles)Longest straight: 1.09km/0.677 miles (longest of season: China, 1.17km/0.727 miles) Top speed: 335km/h/208mph, on the approach to Turn One (fastest of season: Monza, 350km/h/217mph) Pitlane length: 420m/0.261 miles, estimated time loss 21s (longest of season: Silverstone, 457m/0.283 miles) Full throttle: 64 per cent (highest of season: Monza, 75 per cent) DRS zones: Two, on the approaches to Turns One and 11Key corner: Turn 10, a tricky off-camber, downhill left-hander. It’s important to make a clean exit because the second DRS zone follows.
Fastest corner: 185km/h (115mph), Turn 13 Slowest corner: 80km/h (50mph), Turn 10 Major changes for 2016: None
Fuel consumption: 1.8kg per lap, making it one of the most fuel-critical races of the season. It’s one of the longest races of the season and there are lots of bursts of acceleration from low speed.
ERS demands: Medium Brake wear: High. There are eight big stops from high speed, the biggest coming at Turns One and 14Gear changes: 52 per lap /2964 per race
Circuit facts
Bahrain was the first Middle Eastern nation to host a grand prix. The $150 million Bahrain International Circuit took 18 months to build and, coincidentally, McLaren-Honda’s Jenson Button was the first F1 driver to visit the facility during the build process in 2003. The start time of the race was moved back to 18:00pm (local time) in 2014, thereby becoming F1’s second night race.
What makes the track unique The combination of long straights and slow corners. Car set-up is a delicate compromise between straight-line speed and slow-corner grip, and special consideration has to be given to cooling because this is the first hot race of the year.
Grip levels Low. The track isn’t used much during the year and when you combine that fact with the circuit’s desert location, grip levels can be very low early in the weekend. The asphalt is initially very dusty and slippery, but lap times improve dramatically once the cars start to circulate.
Run-off Substantial, which is why track limits are a factor here. At no point around the racetrack is a driver permitted to place all four wheels beyond the white lines lining the edge of the asphalt, or they risk punishment from the FIA.
Watch out for… The track temperature. The race starts just after sunset, which means the asphalt cools dramatically during the course of the race. The drivers on: the circuit
#14 Fernando Alonso “Firstly, I’m very pleased to be heading to Bahrain after the crash in Australia. I’ve spent some time resting and I can’t wait to get back in the car. Although on paper Melbourne wasn’t a great race for us, before the crash I’d been having some good battles and the car felt pretty promising, so I hope in Bahrain we can experience more of the same.
“I really enjoy racing in Bahrain. It’s been a good circuit for me in the past – I’ve had three victories there – and there are quite a few good opportunities to overtake. There are lots of variables to think about and it’s one of the longest races, which usually produces some kind of drama. Hopefully we can enjoy some close racing and keep ourselves out of trouble.”
#22 Jenson Button“Bahrain is a fun track to drive on and very different from Albert Park in its configuration. It’s tough on brakes and fuel, and good balance is key to putting together a lap, as you need downforce on the long, fast straights and then stability and traction through the lower-speed corners. It’s a more extreme version of Australia in many ways, with the track starting off very dirty and rubbering in over the weekend. While that makes the track faster, we also have to juggle the rapidly cooling temperatures on race day after the sun sets.
“I’m really keen to get back behind the wheel, as, although it didn’t show in our results from Australia, our package felt very good to drive and the team worked really hard to bring a step forward in driveability from testing to the first race. Bahrain is definitely a tricky track for us as it’s high-speed, but we have a solid platform and improved deployment, so there are some positives to look forward to.”
Event stats
Start time: 18:00hrs local/15:00hrs BST
Race distance: 57 laps (full world championship points will be awarded after 75 per cent distance/43 laps)
Safety Car likelihood: 20 per cent, which is low. There have been only two Safety Car deployments in the history of the race, most recently in 2014.
When to press record: The long run to Turn One usually creates excitement, but why not check out the sunset? When the pitlane opens 30 minutes before the start, the sun is still going down and it can be spectacularly beautiful in the desert.
Don’t put the kettle on… when the race reaches laps in the mid-teens and mid-30s. These were the two pitstop windows for the top four cars home in last year’s race. Sebastian Vettel was the first three-stopper to finish, in fifth place.
Weather conditions: 29 degrees and sunny
Race forecast: 26 degrees, but the temperature will drop quickly once the sun has set
Tyre choices: Supersoft/Soft/Medium, which are the same as at the season-opener in Australia
Eric Boullier McLaren-Honda Racing Director “The race in Australia was certainly an eventful one for McLaren-Honda. First of all, I was very happy to see Fernando walk away after such a heart-stopping incident. In addition, I’d like to say a huge thank you to all our McLaren and Honda employees for the incredible efforts going on behind the scenes to get the spare chassis built and ready to race next weekend. It’s a truly remarkable achievement in between flyaway races, and a testament to our incredibly strong teamwork.
“We’re certainly hoping for a less dramatic race in Bahrain, and will be aiming to build on the promising initial data we’ve collected from our car, which shows a definite improvement in pace from last year’s package. There’s still much more potential to unlock and performance to find, but the encouraging leap made from testing to Melbourne has shown what’s possible, and we will keep pushing to improve our pace and develop our strengths by continuing to bring updates to the car at every race.
“The Bahrain Grand Prix has become something of a home race for us, and we’re very proud to be racing in front of our shareholders and enthusiastic fans. The spectacle of the Bahrain International Circuit is something very special. Racing under floodlights always creates a unique atmosphere and the fans get to enjoy action on track in completely different settings over the course of the weekend. For the engineers, it’s a battle to juggle many different constraints – temperatures, track surfaces, brake wear, tyres, fuel consumption – and we’ve already learned a lot about how our car performs in different conditions from Melbourne, which we’ll be putting to good use. In Bahrain we’ll be looking to discover our true pace and put our package to work in the tough desert conditions.”
Yusuke Hasegawa Honda R&D Co Ltd Head of F1 Project & Executive Chief Engineer "After a chaotic Australian weekend, we head off to our first night race of the season in Bahrain.
“We have recovered the power unit from Fernando’s car used in Melbourne. After initial investigations, we are massively disappointed that the ICE and most of the surrounding parts have been heavily damaged, as the impact from the accident was just too great. We will be replacing the complete power unit in Bahrain.
“Looking forward, Bahrain’s sunny and dry weather will hopefully ensure that we have plenty of clean running. The circuit’s two long front and back straights will be strenuous on the power units, so we will make the most of the practice sessions to set up the car. It’s evident that we still need to increase our performance, but thankfully we were able to learn more about where we are and how to progress from the data collected in Melbourne.”
