Formula 1 2014: Round 3 - Bahrain Grand Prix

Track Map

The Formula One paddock heads rapidly from the Far East to the Middle East this weekend and Sakhir’s Bahrain International Circuit, which this year hosts its very first F1 night race. Those involved in the 2014 Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix discuss their prospects…

Esteban Gutierrez, Sauber
2013 Qualifying - 18th, 2013 Race - 18th
“Bahrain is a track which we all know pretty well from testing. We have good references from there, and it will be very interesting to come back and to see what our improvements are in comparison to the first two races. The Bahrain International Circuit has a special track characteristic. Based on what we learnt from the first two races, I think we can make another step in terms of drivability. We made improvements on the braking and I believe we can push these even further. Everyone in our team and Ferrari are doing their best to get things done properly. My favourite part of the track is the last one with the fast corners. The left-hander which goes uphill is very interesting. Besides that, it will be a nice feeling to race for the first time in Bahrain at night. I do believe the track in Bahrain will also help us to have more stable tyre temperatures as the weather will be good.”

Adrian Sutil, Sauber
2013 Qualifying - 8th, 2013 Race - 13th
“This year Bahrain will host a night race, so it won’t be as hot, and the data collected during the pre-season tests will only be of limited significance, which makes it interesting. The tyres especially will behave differently, but we can go back to our data from the night race in Singapore. I am looking forward to the race weekend. Night races are always interesting and provide a great backdrop for the spectators. It is special to drive at night. I like the layout. The pit facilities are very modern with a lot of space. My favourite parts are the fast chicane in turns six and seven, as well as the fast section in the last sector. We have spent a lot of days testing at the Bahrain International Circuit, but driving there was always fun. I like being in Bahrain. It’s a small country, but it is interesting and has a lot of history.”

Giampaolo Dall’Ara, Sauber head of track engineering
“We went testing in Bahrain twice before the start of the season and were not happy with the performance of the car, which had a lot to do with a lack of straight-line speed and some issues under braking. However, since then, we have improved the car in different areas, particularly under braking. In addition, the performance in medium and high speed corners is quite good as well. However, we still have room for improvement in low speed corners, and the straight-line speed is still an issue. Pirelli will provide the medium and the soft compounds, hence, the same tyres we had in Melbourne. I think this is a good choice for the Bahrain track, because it is more abrasive. We are constantly working on fine tuning all the systems with the goal to provide the drivers with a car which gives them the confidence to push it to the limits. In addition, we will continue our weight saving programme during the upcoming races.”

Pirelli
Paul Hembery, Pirelli motorsport director
"Bahrain is a circuit where we’ve done two recent tests, so we go there with a lot of knowledge of the track, which we certainly benefit from. We know that there’s a big traction demand and that’s why we’re bringing the medium and soft tyres. Temperatures at the start of the race should still be reasonably high. We’ve noted a very big drop in temperature though as soon as the sun goes down: a variation that can be as big as 15 degrees. Managing that very wide range of temperatures to get the best out of the tyres is going to be one of the biggest challenges for the teams throughout the weekend. This should make it quite tactical in terms of strategy, so it should be a very interesting race from that point of view."

Jenson Button, McLaren
2013 Qualifying - 10th, 2013 Race - 10th
“It’s hard to believe that this weekend’s race will be the 10th Bahrain Grand Prix - I won this race back in 2009, I’ve had lots of good performances here, and I really enjoy the challenge the circuit presents. You always feel like you can get a little bit more out of yourself, and the car, which makes it a difficult but rewarding track on which to drive.

“Sunday’s race will be my 250th Grand Prix start. That’s crazy: it feels like only yesterday that I was celebrating my 200th, with a win for McLaren in Hungary back in 2011.

“Things never stand still in Formula One, and we go to Bahrain facing another new challenge: the circuit’s first night race. It’ll be interesting to see what sort of race we have under the floodlights - racing at night always adds to the atmosphere and sense of occasion, and I think this weekend will be no different.

“We’ve scored some useful points in the first two races, which was always our objective for the opening quartet of flyaways [ie, Australia, Malaysia, Bahrain and China], and I hope we can get some more points in the bag this weekend.”

Kevin Magnussen, McLaren
2013 Qualifying - n/a 2013 Race - n/a
“It’ll be a good experience to go racing at a circuit on which I’ve already driven a Formula One car - a first for me in fact because I already have four days’ running under my belt from the recent winter tests. While that doesn’t really make a massive difference, because you can learn a circuit relatively quickly, assisted by simulator experience, it does mean you can go straight into Friday’s practice sessions on the front foot. You don’t need to familiarise yourself with the track first.

“I really enjoyed the tests and filming days we did in Bahrain earlier this year actually - the track has a good mix of corners, and the high-speed stuff around the back of the circuit is really enjoyable when the car is working well.

“Although the Sakhir [Bahrain] track has several high-speed corners, it’s not as fast as Sepang [Malaysia] so I’m hopeful that we’ll be slightly more competitive this weekend than we were there. I still think the track temperatures and our lack of downforce will make it hard to get the car into the sweet spot we found for it in Melbourne, but I’m hopeful we’ll be able to achieve a decent balance for the race.

“The Grand Prix itself will take place in the evening, so the track will be slightly cooler than it’s been for any previous Bahrain Grand Prix. I guess that’ll help all the teams, but I think we can still benefit from it. It’s always fascinating to try new things, and I really hope this weekend’s event, the 10th Bahrain Grand Prix, is a great success.”

Eric Boullier, McLaren racing director
“Although we didn’t enjoy the same level of competitiveness in Malaysia as we had in Australia, we nonetheless took home 10 valuable world championship points That’s not enough, but it’s better than some of our competitors managed.

“At the moment, we concede that we don’t quite have the performance to take the fight to the front-runners, but the considerable in-cockpit abilities of Jenson and Kevin, and the ever-impressive resource, motivation and competitiveness of our race team, mean that we can expect to be in the mix on Sunday.

“Since the Bahrain Grand Prix will be taking place just a week after the Malaysian race, we don’t expect to see a significant change in the competitive order, so our main aim will be to ensure that we have a faultless weekend from a reliability and operational standpoint. Despite the short interval between the two races, we’ll be incorporating a small number of design tweaks, nonetheless.

“For our Mumtalakat shareholders, this 10th Bahrain Grand Prix should be a very special event: the prospect of a night-time race in Bahrain is truly tantalising. Although we already race in the dark in both Singapore and Abu Dhabi, the Sakhir track sits in the Bahraini desert and should look wonderfully spectacular when its illuminated asphalt is contrasted against the dark expanses of unlit sand and rock. More important, it should add a further dimension to the scope and spectacle of modern Formula One.”

Jean-Eric Vergne, Toro Rosso
2013 Qualifying - 16th, 2013 Race - DNF
“Sakhir will be the first track this year where we have already driven the latest car, as we had the two test sessions there. Regarding the new cars, from the cockpit, despite all the technical changes, they are not so different to drive, when compared to the 2013 models. You still have a steering wheel, a throttle and a brake!

“There are a few aspects of your driving that you have to adapt, but the real changes are on the Power Unit side, in terms of when and how you will work to save fuel during the race, compared to going flat out on a qualifying lap.

“I think this year’s Grand Prix here will be quite special, as it is the first time we will drive this circuit at night under lights. I think that will be cool, and it will bring a special atmosphere to this race, looking a bit like Qatar for the MotoGP race. The track itself presents nothing out of the ordinary, with the usual aero compromise so that the car is quick down the straight, but still has enough downforce for all the corners.”

Daniil Kvyat, Toro Rosso
2013 Qualifying - n/a, 2013 Race - n/a
“It’s a nice circuit, good for testing and racing with its long straights and hard braking, as well as a mix of corners and challenging ones like Turn 10. I am looking forward to racing there, as it will be the first track I will drive on this year where I have already tested. But really, that doesn’t make much difference to my approach, because whatever track we go to, I should learn it quickly enough.”

Phil Charles, Toro Rosso chief engineer
“There are a few tricky sections such as braking for turn 10 (while still cornering in turn 9!) and the section comprising Turns 5 to 7 where it is often difficult for the drivers to know whether to push or not. It is quite hard on brakes and rear tyres, and this often becomes a focus of our set-up across the weekend. On top of all of this, Mother Nature also makes it a bit more tricky, with high and gusting winds, a possibility which can affect car balance in the high speed corners. The high winds also mean that sand is blown on to the track, however the cleaning machines currently used do a fantastic job of clearing it up. Running the race at night for the first time should add interest. The drop in track temperatures at the end of the day during winter testing created large balance and grip level changes, so it will be interesting to see how the race unfolds later into the night.”

Kamui Kobayashi, Caterham
2013 Qualifying - n/a, 2013 Race - n/a
"Next it's back to Bahrain for race three, back at a track we've already spent a couple of weeks at this year in the pre-season test where we managed to build up some pretty good mileage at a time when our reliability was good, something that will be really important this weekend. We also now have something to build on, both in terms of performance and from where we are now, in tenth place in the championship and with targets ahead that we know we can race with.

"Reliability really is the main focus for Bahrain. We need to have three good practice sessions so we can go into qualifying and the race with an optimised setup giving us the chance to really find out what the real performance level of this car is. On my last day of the test in Bahrain we weren't able to do the final performance run because of a clutch issue, and we really haven't had a chance since then to run the car in full quali spec with optimised setups because of the reliability problems we've had, and the wet quali sessions we had in both Australia and Malaysia. Yes, we performed well in Malaysia for much of the race, but that was with a car that had almost no meaningful setup work done on it and with more still to come from the power unit. It's vital we have a full weekend so we can pick up where we left off in Sepang and continue to improve across all areas of the car's performance.

"Our ability to develop is what will be crucial this year. Our development program is starting in Bahrain with the first new parts coming from the work we've been doing in the TMG wind tunnel and it'll be good to see how they perform."

Marcus Ericsson, Caterham
2013 Qualifying - n/a, 2013 Race - n/a
"I left Malaysia feeling pleased that I'd finished my first full race, and excited about what we achieved on Sunday at Sepang. It was tough - even though we'd completed quite a few laps on Friday and Saturday, we still went into the race without an optimised setup due to the issues we had on Friday and the work we had to do overnight to rebuild the car on Saturday and Sunday, so the most important thing in Bahrain is to have a trouble free weekend. Also, the Bahrain circuit characteristics should suit our car better than Sepang so we may be stronger here than in Malaysia, relative to the competition.

"I obviously know the Bahrain circuit well after the tests and, like Malaysia, that means we can get on with the program right from the first laps in FP1. We have a lot of data that's helping us go to the race with a much clearer idea of where we want to go with setup than we've had in either Australia or Malaysia, but it would also be really helpful if we can have the sort of reliability we had in the second pre-season test - mileage is what will help us unlock the full performance of this year's car, and I know how hard both Renault and our team are working to make sure we can do that."

Robin Frijns, Caterham test and reserve driver
"I'm excited about being back in the car for my first FP1 of the 2014 season with Caterham, especially as I already have experience of the car at Bahrain from the day I did in the pre-season tests. It'll be interesting to see how much progress we've made across the whole car since I last drove it, but my focus will be on helping the team prepare for the race weekend, something I know I can add value to, assuming we have a problem-free session!

"After the race weekend we're staying on for the first of the in-season tests and I'm doing one of the two days of that test. Obviously that's a different proposition to an FP1 - quite a lot less pressure, more time on track and a much bigger run plan, but it's still really important to approach that day with the same focus and determination to do as well as I can for the team. It's another chance for me to continue to learn as much as I can about operating efficiently with the team on track, building on the work I've been doing with them in the simulator back at Leafield, and I can't wait to get back to work!"

Four of the nine races in Bahrain so far have been won from pole position, with five different winners in total.

Fernando Alonso is the most successful driver in Bahrain, winning three times, Ferrari the most successful constructor with four.

The lap record was set at the first race in 2004, a time of 1:30.252 by Michael Schumacher’s Ferrari.

So far in 2014 Mercedes have won every pole, fastest lap and race.

Mercedes have yet to win in Bahrain, but in 2009 as Brawn GP they won the race.

Pastor Maldonado is still yet to finish a race in 2014 and Sauber and Lotus have still not scored any points.

The Bahrain International Circuit is a 5.412km long track with 15 corners, 57 laps and a race distance of 308.484km.

Four races have been won from pole and two from second on the grid.

The race has never been won from behind the second row of the grid, one win from third on the grid and two wins from fourth.

The Silly Stats

Bahrain is in total 765.3 km², making it big enough to fit a total of 88,955,562 McLaren MP4-12C cars, though they wouldn’t be able to move an inch.