Just a few short days have elapsed since Fernando Alonso scored Ferrari’s first victory of the 2013 season in China, but Formula One is already deep in preparations for round four of the championship, which takes place this coming weekend in Bahrain.
The Bahrain International Circuit joined the F1 calendar in 2004 and has hosted the grand prix eight times. During that time it has established itself as uniquely challenging track. The dusty environment can cause problems for engines, the heat of the desert makes cooling a priority and the mix of slow-speed corners at the end of long straights means that the BIC is one of the most severe on brakes all season. While tyres are already defining the shape of the championship, the dust here adds yet another variable to their use, with graining exacerbated when the track is dirty. The mix of high and low-speed sections also means that set-up is something of a compromise.
It all means that the Bahrain GP will not be an easy race for any team. However, on the back of Alonso’s win in China, Ferrari will arrive here brimming with confidence. That optimism will be heightened by the knowledge that the Spaniard has been the dominant force at the BIC, taking three victories here – in 2005/’06 and in 2010. They’ll also take heart from the fact that the next most successful driver is Alonso’s team-mate, the rejuvenated Felipe Massa, who has two wins under his belt, in ’07 and ’08.
They surely won’t have it all own way, however. Sebastian Vettel’s fourth place in China keeps him in charge of the drivers’ title standings and Kimi Raikkonen’s second place last weekend means he arrives here in second place just three points behind the Red Bull man. Both will be looking to maintain their charge here, but with Mercedes looking ominously competitive and Jenson Button’s fifth place in China proving that McLaren are getting back to their best the weekend’s grand prix is as wide open as the desert landscape in which it will be run.
Let’s take a detailed look at the Grand Prix weekend information.
Schedule
Free Practice 1
Date: Friday 19th April 2013
Time: 10:00am Local Time (7:00am GMT)
Results: TBA
http://www.racedepartment.com/2013/04/massa-on-top-after-friday-practice/
Free Practice 2
Date: Friday 19th April 2013
Time: 2:00pm Local Time (11:00am GMT)
Results: TBA
Free Practice 3
Date: Saturday 20th April 2013
Time: 11:00am Local Time (8:00am GMT)
Results: TBA
Qualifying
Date: Saturday 20th April 2013
Time: 2:00pm Local Time (11:00am GMT)
Results: TBA
Race
Date: Sunday 21st April 2013
Time: 3:00pm Local Time (12:00pm GMT)
Laps: 57
Tires
Pirelli will bring the white-banded medium and orange-banded hard compounds to Bahrain. Due to tyre degradation Pirelli announced they will not be supplying the teams with the originally proposed yellow-banded Softs. Which was due to Jenson Button asking last race "Can we race?" and various other team's complaining that the 2013 Pirelli's are spoiling the racing fun.
Bahrain International Circuit
Distance: 5.412km
Corners: 15
Lap Record: 1:30.252 (Michael Schumacher, Ferrari, 2004)
Opened: 2004
Last Year’s Grand Prix
Winner: Sebastian Vettel – Red Bull
Pole: Sebastian Vettel - 1:32.422
Fastest Lap: Sebastian Vettel (lap 41): 1 min 36.379 secs
Fastest Speeds: S1:Nico Hulkenburg 237kph (147mph); S2: Jenson Button 264kph (164mph); S3: Fernando Alonso 290kph (180mph); Speed Trap: Nico Hulkenburg 318kph (198mph)
Humidity: 32%
Track temperature: 29C
Air temperature: 27C
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Bahrain Grand Prix Facts
- Fernando Alonso has scored the most wins of any driver at the Sakhir Circuit. The Spaniard has three victories – for Renault in 2005/’06 and for Ferrari in 2010. Every other time Alonso has raced here he’s finished off the podium, finishing sixth in 2004, fifth in ’07, 10th in ’08, eighth in ’09 and seventh last year.
- Ferrari is the most successful constructor, with four wins. Michael Schumacher won the inaugural event for the Scuderia in 2004, before Massa’s double in ’07/’08 and Alonso’s 2010 win.
- The Bahrain Grand Prix has never been won from beyond the first two rows but it hasn’t been particularly favourable to drivers in pole position – only four times in eight events has the pole-sitter gone on to win the race.
- The Bahrain International Circuit has two main pit buildings and six potential layouts. Alongside the Grand Prix and Endurance layouts, there is an Inner Circuit, Outer Circuit, Paddock Circuit and Flat Oval. ~
- Mercedes’ Nico Rosberg made his Formula One debut here in 2006, racing for Williams. He qualified 12th and drove to seventh position in the race to claim two points. The German also claimed the fastest lap of the grand prix.
- The 2006 Bahrain GP was that season’s opening race. It saw the debuts of Scott Speed for Toro Rosso and Yuji Ide for Super Aguri. Speed raced 28 grands prix, with his final event being the 2007 European Grand Prix. Ide raced just four times in F1 before a crash at the 2006 San Marino GP led to his Superlicence being revoked by the FIA.
- Of this year’s rookies only Valtteri Bottas has driven an F1 session here. The Williams driver took part in FP1 in 2012, finishing in 14th position with a lap of 1:35.497. Giedo van der Garde raced here in the GP2 Asia series in 2009 with iSport and returned twice last year with Caterham Racing. He finished the first of the back-to-back 2012 GP2 weekends with a best place of ninth in the sprint race. The following weekend he finished third in the feature race and 19th in the sprint event. Jules Bianchi raced here in GP2 Asia in 2010 with ART Grand Prix with a best result of 10th. Esteban Gutierrez competed in GP2 here last year for Lotus ART. He was third in the feature race and second in the sprint event on weekend one and on weekend two finished the feature race in 10th and was second in the sprint. Finally, Max Chilton raced in GP2 Asia with Barwa Addax in 2010 with a best finish of 12th. Last year, for Marussia Carlin, he was fourth in the feature race and fifth in the sprint on weekend one and then fifth in weekend two’s feature and 13th in the sprint.
- Pirelli will bring its Hard and Medium tyres to Bahrain. This allocation replaces the company’s original choice of Hard and Soft tyres for this race. The Hard/Medium pairing was last used was at the Malaysian GP.
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