2014 Bahrain Grand Prix - Preview

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Published on 02 Apr 2014 09:34
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By: Tom Brooks

As we move out of Malaysia, the teams have barely had a chance chance to catch their breaths before we progress onwards to Bahrain, which is celebrating its 10th anniversary of holding the Formula 1 Grand Prix at the facility.

It is the only circuit on the calendar that the teams all have experience at due to the final two pre-season tests taking place at the venue and with prior setup knowledge as well as a chance for drivers and teams to get to grips with the cars, expect pace to be strong from the outset.

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In line with the aforementioned celebrations, the race will be held under floodlights, descending from evening into night for the first time since its inception. The decrease in temperatures and increase in winds may prove to cause difficulties for some drivers, however.

Making its debut in 2004, the circuit has seen some spectacular racing throughout the years such as Sato and Ralf Schumacher at the inaugural event and Perez with then team-mate Button last year. The race in 2012 also caused controversy due to the civil unrest within the country at the time, with protests taking place near the vicinity and threatening the future of the Grand Prix within the country.

The promise of a thrilling wet/dry race last time out in Sepang failed to materialise, however there were some superb overtakes from the likes of Button, Vettel and Magnussen. It was disappointing for Ricciardo’s bad luck to continue, it will be difficult for the Australian to challenge for the title with no points after two rounds.

Hamilton took the win in Malaysia ahead of Rosberg and Vettel, demonstrating signs that Mercedes are still expecting to be the dominant team next time out. Although, the Briton has warned that the Red Bulls may make a charge in the Gulf.

Onwards to this weekend, and rather surprisingly, the forecast is stating that there may be showers on the Friday for FP1 with a 28% chance of a small downpour. It’s looking to be dry and clear from FP2 onwards however, with temperatures expected to reach 25 degrees Celsius on Sunday.

Ferrari have announced upgrades for Round 4 in China after sandbagging in Australia and Malaysia, however they will continue to run the same specification of car this weekend. Also in the news is that Dutchmen Robin Frijns and Giedo van der Garde will make their first outings for the Caterham and Sauber teams in the first Free Practice session.

We return to the Medium and Soft compound of Pirelli rubber this weekend and with the cooler temperatures thanks to the dusk setting, tyre wear should not be too much of a variable as we saw in Malaysia with some drivers making up to four pit-stops. The manufacturer themselves also stated the lack of blistering and graining. However, as I keep reiterating, the sheer amount of torque going through the rear wheels may change that.

Historically, the track has an incredibly high attrition rate with brake wear and fuel consumption both being at some of their highest throughout the season and with reliability already proving to be a key factor in 2014, Bahrain may spring a few unsuspecting surprises.

The circuit itself is a mix of slow and flowing mid-speed corners. Turn 1, now named after Michael Schumacher, is a tight right-hand hairpin that leads to the left of Turn 2, allowing drivers to open up throttle for the first straight that is the first over-taking opportunity of the lap before drivers brake slightly and shift down the box into 5th gear into the flowing second sector.

The main overtaking points are expected to be on the back-straight out of Turn 11 and main straight where the drivers will have the use of DRS. Both have tricky braking zones at the end, so expect to see plenty of attempts up the inside of the two corners. Furthermore, should a driver be able to get a good exit out of Turn 13, they may be able to line up a pass coming into the final two right-handers.

The safe money for the victory would of course be on the two Mercedes cars once more but with Hamilton currently trailing Rosberg by some 18 points, it's going to be a tall order for the 2008 World Champion to leapfrog the German.

I also feel that the McLaren's of Jenson Button and Kevin Magnussen may spring a surprise, as well as Williams judging their pre-season pace at the track. Also, the likes of Sauber and Toro Rosso showed respectable pace, so they may be ones to watch.

Qualifying at the race both get underway at 18.00 Local Time (16.00 BST) and we will of course have reports of all the sessions taking place from Friday through to Sunday.

Tom Brooks
Chief UK Editor