Track: Bahrain International Circuit
Number of Laps: 57
Circuit Length: 3.4 miles (5.4km)
Race Length: 191.6 miles (308.4km)
Start Time: 16:00 BST
Fastest Lap: 1:29.527 (Mark Webber, Williams-BMW, 2005, FP4)
Fastest Race Lap: 1:30.252 (Michael Schumacher, Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro, 2004)
2015 Pole Position: Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes AMG Petronas, 1:32.571, Soft Tyres
2015 Race Winner: Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes AMG Petronas
Tyre Compounds: Supersoft, Soft, Medium, Intermediate, Wet
First F1 Championship Grand Prix: 2004
Most Wins: Fernando Alonso (3), Scuderia Ferrari (4)
After a stunning season opener in Melbourne two weeks ago, we head to Bahrain for the first night race of the season.
Coming into the weekend, the main news is that Fernando Alonso will miss the race after being declared unfit following an FIA medical on Thursday. His chest has not healed enough following his massive accident in Australia – in which he suffered 47G. McLaren’s reserve driver Stoffel Vandoorne will replace him, making his Formula One début. Alonso will be re-examined in China before he is allowed to race there.
His car will be brand new, with McLaren unable to salvage the chassis and Honda not able to repair the power unit. This makes for even more bad news for Spaniard Alonso, who will have to complete the rest of the season with just four power units. Every driver is allocated five for the season due to their being 21 races on this year’s calendar.
The other big news story ahead of the race is that the controversial elimination qualifying format that was introduced in Australia will remain in place for round two. The powers that be failed to unanimously agree to revert back to the 2015 system, citing that they did not want to cause a knee-jerk reaction.
Ferrari and Force India are the teams to watch this weekend. The Prancing Horses really took the fight to Mercedes in Australia after a storming start, only relinquishing the lead because of a poor strategy call.
Force India have traditionally gone well here. They have finished in the top four twice in the last three years – with Sergio Perez taking a podium in the epic 2014 race. They have scored points at this circuit every year since 2010.
Hopefully, we will see a repeat of Australia and have a fantastic battle for the lead. We have, after all, become accustomed to it at this track in recent years.
