Formula One Vault

PRIXVIEW – Bahrain Grand Prix 2024

Formula One remains in Bahrain following on from testing for the opening race of the season, the 3.363-mile circuit celebrates its twentieth running of the race in Sakhir and the eleventh night/twilight race at the circuit having transitioned to a night race back in 2014.

The 3.362-mile circuit has been part of F1 for two decades, mixing long straights and a more technical infield section. That means for the race weekends race teams need to find a balance between the two. high speed that matters on the three straights and that means that good downforce and speed are very important, as well as breaking at the end of the straights.

The infield middle section is the more technical and twisty sector, which will be an interesting section to watch over the coming weeks as it will give us an idea of how closely cars will be able to follow each other. The circuit normally favours cars which are good at high speed and high downforce, Mercedes being strong through most of the hybrid era.

Deaigned by Hermann Tilke, the circuit features many of his traits long straights and a first corner where drivers can attack into the braking zone through the kink before opening the car up on the way up the hill to Turn Four, which is a good overtaking opportunity as they slow to a hundred KPH.

The infield middle section is the more technical and twisty sector, which will be an interesting section to watch over the coming weeks as it will give us an idea of how closely cars will be able to follow each other. The circuit normally favours cars which are good at high speed and high downforce.

For the last decade this race has been a night race, this weekend marks twenty years since the first running of a Grand Prix in the Middle East. Michael Schumacher won that race, until Max Verstappen beat it last season, won all but one race during that 2004 season. In the midfield we have seen really close racing in recent years as the circuit allows drivers to follow close through the middle sector allowing for possible overtakes at twelve and thirteen.

Red Bull went into last year’s race as the team to beat once again, but despite the teams dominance of the current regulations it was Ferrari and Charles Leclerc who converted pole into victory in 2022.

The circuit has tended mostly to favour the teams at the front, not many surprises in terms of results. Fernando Alonso took two victories on his way to both his titles for Renault (now Alpine) before Ferrari won in 2007 and 2008, but on his debut for Ferrari Alonso took the Scuderia back to the top of the podium in 2010.

That 2010 season opener saw the race take place on the Endurance Layout, on his debut for Ferrari Alonso led his teammate Felipe Massa, in his first race following a head injury at the previous season’s race in Budapest. Sebastian Vettel had looked on course to win that race until lap 34 when a gearbox problem forced him to concede the lead to Alonso. This meant that he was eventually overtaken by Massa and Hamilton too, meaning that he finished in fourth place, on his return to the sport, Schumacher finishing sixth, one place behind teammate Nico Rosberg. Reigning world champion Jenson Button completed his first race for the McLaren team by finishing seventh.

The following season opening race was postponed to October following the Arab Spring protests, with the Indian Grand Prix, moved from that date to 11 December,  before being cancelled after a row about the regulations after the teams objected on logistical grounds.

Bahrain returned to the calendar in 2012, however, this race continues to cause controversy around this race, the government of Bahrain, on the other hand, denied allegations of sports washing. Vettel soon put the record right after losing out in 2010, the Red Bull driver converted pole into victory after leading the race from pole.

The race takes place in the evening meaning that the track will cool down throughout the day, meaning setup during FP1 and FP3 the teams need to be careful not to react to the changes to the car in the warmer conditions. Also off the back of testing, they need to be extra cautious with not going too far towards warm conditions as that could screw the set-up for qualifying and the race.

2014, Bahrain marked a decade on the calendar becoming a night race and one of the classic battles between Hamilton and Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg. Throughout the race, Rosberg piled the pressure on Hamilton, as they sailed off on their own Hamilton fended off his teammate and took victory on his way to his second title and repeated it again the following season.

Rosberg fought back for victory in 2016, extended his advantage on Räikkönen to eight seconds, and Kvyat overtook Massa to move into seventh on lap 56. Nico Rosberg was able to hold on to his lead to win the race ahead of Räikkönen and Hamilton. While Haas had the best debut race, for an entirely new team, since Buenos Aires in 1973, with sixth and fifth.

Vettel took the first of two consecutive wins in 2017, he passed Valtteri Bottas after Max Verstappen retired with brake failure and Hamilton took a five-second penalty after holding up Daniel Ricciardo during the pit stop. Vettel eventually passed Bottas, who released Hamilton with ten laps to go. The German’s win from pole the following season made him then the most successful driver in Bahrain.

Mercedes took victory the following year, at the expense of Charles Leclerc having lead most of the race from pole in only his second race for Ferrari. He then reported an engine issue and slowed significantly, lapping several seconds slower than his immediate rivals, and getting unlapped by cars he previously lapped. It was later revealed that one of his engine cylinders had stopped working. On lap forty-eight, he was caught by Hamilton, who took the lead, then was passed by Bottas but Leclerc hung onto third becoming the  Monégasque driver since Louis Chiron to finish on the podium since Monaco 1950.

The race was postponed and was a double header in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Hamilton dominated the race called the Bahrain GP, after a huge accident wrecked the Haas of Romain Grosjean. The Frenchman spun off after clipping Kvyat Alpha Tauri, when he hit the barrier the car spilt in two and erupted in a ball of fire.

Grosjean pulled himself out the fireball and possible death as the race was red-flagged. The race is colloquially known as “the miracle in the desert”. At the second start, Kvyat crashed with Lance Stroll and collided at turn eight. Stroll’s car was flipped upside down but he was not injured in the crash.

Kvyat was able to continue but was issued a ten-second time penalty, sending him down the order. Stroll’s flipped car brought out a safety car, during which Bottas’s car developed a puncture, forcing him to pit for new tyres.

After the race Hamilton tested positive for Covid, giving George Russell his Mercedes debut for the Sakhir Grand Prix held on the outer circuit. One of the best debuts with Russell on course for a maiden win after fending off Bottas. But his chance of a dream Mercedes debut was undone when his replacement at Williams Jack Aitken spun and crashed at the final corner.

Mercedes reacted bringing Russell in from the lead, but wrongly fitted Bottas’s tyres to his car meaning he had to stop again. That dropped Bottas to fourth and Russell to fifth. Gifting Sergio Perez his maiden win and saved his career after being dropped by Racing Point/Aston Martin.

Three months later it was Verstappen who took the pole for the 2021 race from Hamilton, setting the season up to be a clash between them. At the start, Verstappen was able to hold off Hamilton in the opening phase of the race before holding off the Mercedes, the battle would continue all race long. In the closing stages, Verstappen was told to give the position back, as he ran wide giving Hamilton the lead and victory.

Leclerc took victory in 2022, despite losing out to Verstappen at the start. With six laps remaining Verstappen reported a is steering getting heavier in corners and on straights, with Red Bull moving to tell him it was would be an issue to the end of the race that he would have to adapt to.

But all that was in vain as the issue proved terminal with the world champion retiring with two laps to go Verstappen’s teammate Sergio Perez was the third Red Bull-powered car to retire, he suffered a fuel pump issue before spinning out ahead of Hamilton.

Race & Circuit Guide

Fast facts

• The circuit has a variety of layouts for different events. F1 has raced on three variations of the circuit, with all but one Bahrain Grand Prix taking place on the Grand Prix Circuit layout of the track.
• The 2022 Bahrain Grand Prix attracted a record race day crowd for the event, with 98,000 in attendance over the three-day weekend. The record was broken again with a sell-out race at the 2023 Bahrain Grand Prix, with 36,000 attending on race day. The 2022 Bahrain Grand Prix attracted a record race day crowd for the event, with 98,000 in attendance over the three-day weekend. The record was broken again with a sell-out race at the 2023 Bahrain Grand Prix, with 36,000 attending on race day.
• Less than half of the races held at Bahrain International Circuit have been won from pole. Just nine of the 20 races at the track have been won from the very front of the grid. The furthest back win here was for Sergio Perez in the 2020 Sakhir Grand Prix. He started fifth.

Event timetable

What happened in 2023?

Red Bull locked out the front run with Max Verstappen beating teammate Sergio Perez to pole by a tenth. Verstappen was three-tenths faster than his Ferrari rival Charles Leclerc, the Monacan did not complete a final run in Q3 after not having enough tyres. Aston Martin lived up to expectations with Fernando Alonso third proving the team’s pace is genuine enough to fight with Mercedes. However, Leclerc was left without tyres to complete a last run, as the team opted to save tyres for the race.

Verstappen took a dominant victory driving a steady and controlled race to finish eleven seconds ahead of his Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez, the first time in a decade that Red Bull has finished one-two in the season opener in a decade. It looked as if was a continuation of 2022, he steadily pulled away from Charles Leclerc who jumped Perez off the line, and he then through the opening phases of the race built his lead during his first stint on the medium tyres.

It was another difficult Bahrain evening for Leclerc, he had been comfortably third for most of the race then a sudden loss of power on lap forty which led to him stopping on track and bringing out the virtual safety car. A perfect strategy call by Alonso allowed him to take third and his first podium since Shanghai in 2014.

What to watch for?

Red Bull still goes into the new season as the team to beat, but the question is how far are they ahead? Last week during testing it looked as if testing is true while Red Bull is the leading team, the gap appears not to be as big as it was last year. But there is a caveat testing teams don’t show their full hand, do they wait until qualifying to get a picture of the pecking order?

Ferrari looks to be the closest challengers on qualifying pace and Mercedes on race pace based on F1’s analysis, if that’s correct they both need to find two-tenths in the race to fight for victory. I think they both look to be in better position, if Red Bull, doesn’t make a huge leap when they show their full hand. Ferrari has in the past managed to beat the dominant team in Sakhir, and you can never count out a surprise in the opening race.

Mercedes, like last year, look to have a better race car than in qualifying where the analysis says they have the fourth fastest car. But it was only testing, I think however watching the car on track last week it looked more stable than it has in the last two years. But the question is the same, how close are they to Red Bull? It looks as if they could be tight on race.

Teams only have one hour of reprehensive practice for qualifying and the race, plus the three hours on the three days of testing. This means that FP2 is normally a very busy and teams need to be careful not to overreact if they are off in FP3, some teams may look to use FP1 as a test session given its mid-afternoon the hotter part of the day.

McLaren look to be in a better position compared to last year while Aston Martin has slipped back slightly, I think McLaren are at this stage are the midfield or in that challenging position to Ferrari and Mercedes. But they could be the ones to watch all season given the massive turn around last season. I think this could again be a season-long fight between the two.

2023 vs 2022 Race Data

2023 Lap time comparison

Tyres