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The eleventh GP2 season begins this weekend in at the Sakhir International Circuit, and the new year brings quite a few changes. On the technical side, DRS has been introduced in an attempt to bring GP2 closer to its big brother Formula 1 and make it more attractive for drivers. There will also be a new voice in the commentary box: Will Buxton announced his plans to focus on his F1 coverage with NBC, and Alex Jacques will take over commentating duties together with last year’s GP2 champion Jolyon Palmer.
Speaking of Palmer, things have changed on the grid as well: Many experienced drivers, the likes of Palmer, Stefano Coletti, Johnny Cecotto, and others who have competed in the series for a long time have left, allowing a new generation of young drivers is rising and shining. Stoffel Vandoorne enters his second year in the championship with ART, so does Arthur Pic with Campos Racing. Two Gp3 champions will be on the grid: Mitch Evans remains with Russian Time for his third year in the series, making him one of the more experienced drivers, while current champion Alex Lynn is ready to challenge in his rookie season with DAMS alongside Pierre Gasly.
Experience will be key on Bahrain challenging track, and fan’s title favourites Vandoorne, Evans, and Pic will be looking to lay a good foundation for the championship fight in the first round. However, this is GP2 and anything can happen, and a rookie looking to prove himself might well steal the show, like Vandoorne did last year.
Sakhir International Circuit Track & Race Info
- Length: 5.412 km
- Turns: 15
- Direction: Clockwise
- Race 1: 32 laps
- Race 2: 23 laps
- Tyres: Medium (White) & Soft (Yellow)
Key factors
- Tyre management and strategy are crucial on this track. The heat is once again a critical factor in tyre performance and degradation, and there is an additional difficulty to overcome: As the circuit is located in the desert, sand is constantly blown onto the circuit. This causes the grip level to change unpredictably, therefore flexible pit stop strategies will be crucial.
- Key points are turns 1 and 4, hard braking points combined with an unusually wide track (especially in turn 4) provide great overtaking opportunities. Keeping the car on the racing line and avoiding the rubber-covered parts of the track through the high-speed S combination of turns 5, 6, and 7 is very important for a good lap-time, and the two blind left-hand turns 9 and 10 are a real challenge as the drivers have to brake, downshift, and turn at the same time.
Timetable
- Friday: Practice at 12:00 local time (GMT +3), Qualifying at 20:00 local time (GMT +3)
- Saturday: Feature Race at 13:10 local time (GMT +3)
- Sunday: Sprint Race at 14:15 local time (GMT +3)
Driver changes
Not a change by definition, however, the Hilmer Motorsport team will not be able to compete due to a lack of funds.
““It is a shame that we will not race in Bahrain, but there are currently no drivers available on the market that bring a sufficient budget which would allow a GP2 team to organise a race weekend”, states team principal Franz Hilmer in a press release.
“We have been in negotiations with many drivers before the season, but with none of them we were able to reach an agreement that would have provided our team an adequate budget. The situation is like that, how can we change it? In the junior categories there is no for-free-racing, unless a manufacturer or companies like Red Bull support it. The potential drivers are currently not blessed with the necessary backing. It is extremely difficult nowadays.
“Missing the first race weekend if of course a setback for the team after setting the fastest time in the afternoon session on the last day of pre-season testing in Bahrain. The cars are ready to go. And they are fast too as we have seen in testing. But it is just not possible if the current driver market won’t allow it. Nevertheless, we are still negotiating with several drivers and we hope that we will start with two cars at the next event in Barcelona. We will be back!”
