#Formula1 @Rolex #SakhirGrandPrix 2020 Preview. #F1 #SakhirGP

After Lewis Hamilton cruised to his 95^th-career victory at the Bahrain Grand Prix, which saw Romain Grosjean suffer a horrific crash and closing stage heart-break for Sergio Perez, round 16 of the 2020 FIA Formula 1 World Championship races once again in the hot desert and under the lights in Sakhir at the Bahrain International Circuit this weekend for the Formula 1 Rolex Sakhir Grand Prix 2020 on the shorter, faster “Outer Circuit”. This will end the series of back-to-back race weekends in Bahrain before moving onto the final round at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi.

 

 

Sakhir Grand Prix Preview – A Look at the Bahrain International Circuit

 

 

The Bahrain International Circuit is a permanent racing facility which opened in 2004 and is used for the FIA Formula One World Championship, FIA Formula 2 Championship, the FIA World Endurance Championship and the traditional 24 Hours of Bahrain. It is located at Sakhir, 30 kilometres south-west of the island’s capital Manama.

 

The circuit was designed by German architect Hermann Tilke, the same architect who has designed many other modern circuits on the Formula One calendar. The main contractor for the project was Cybarco-WCT. The multi-million-dollar project started back in September 2002 when the Kingdom of Bahrain signed a long-term deal to host the first ever Middle Eastern round of the FIA Formula One World Championship. The circuit costed approximately 56.2 million Bahraini Dinars (US$150 million) to build and construct. It has six separate tracks, including a 6.299km endurance circuit, a test oval and drag strip.

 

The circuit posed a unique problem as it was positioned in the middle of a desert, there were worries that sand would blow onto the track and disrupt the race weekend. However, organisers of the event were able to keep the sand off the track by spraying an adhesive on the sand around the track to keep it still.

 

The surface of the track is made of Graywacke Aggregate, shipped to Bahrain from Bayston Hill quarry Shropshire, England. The surface material is highly acclaimed by circuit bosses and Formula 1 drivers for the high level of grip it offers. The same type of material is used at the Yas Marina Circuit for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

 

The 5.412 km Grand Prix circuit was designed to give spectators the best possible experience, with 50,000 grandstand capacity seating, all providing great views of the circuit. Those spectators (A total of up to 100,000 on the race weekend) get to see the cars charging into the external desert area, before coming back into the oasis-styled infield section. Over 500 journalists from around the globe can also witness the action from the venue’s purpose-built media centre.

 

A modified ‘endurance’ style track layout was used for the season-opening 2010 event, with an additional complex starting at Turn Four extending the lap to 23 corners from its original 15 and 6.299 km, but the event reverted to its original track configuration for 2012. It gives the driver a unique experience in the way the circuit’s width varies at the end of the different straights. This allows for diverse racing lines, and the 15-turn design provides three great places for overtaking.

 

The circuit they will be racing on this weekend, however, is the shorter 3.543 kilometre (2.202 mile) Outer track, which is just 0.2 kilometres shorter than the Circuit de Monaco. The cars will run left instead of right at the exit of turn four and then face a quick right-hand swoop and a chicane, before rejoining the Grand Prix circuit for a flat-out run to the last corner.

 

The circuit places a lot of great challenges on the cars including cooling, braking performance, and traction. The smooth tarmac and gentle kerbs encourage the drivers to attack the many medium speed corners. Tyre wear is normally on the cusp between a two-three stop strategy although the evening’s race takes the extreme temperatures out of the equation with track temperatures dropping fast as the sun goes down.

 

Another tough challenge for the engineers and in particular the drivers are the variable levels of grip that afflict the circuit. With high winds common, the circuit is frequently swept with dust from the desert, leading to the unusual circumstance of the circuit sometimes “devolving’ during the sessions.

 

The Bahrain International Outer Circuit runs in a clockwise direction and is 3.543km (2.202 miles) in length with 11 corners.

 

The race distance is 307.995km (191.379 miles) in length with 87 laps in total.

 

 Sakhir Grand Prix Preview – Tyres

 

 

Pirelli will be bringing with them the red-marked C4 “Soft” tyres to Bahrain alongside the yellow-branded C3 “Medium” compounds and the white-marked C2 “Hard” rubber over the race weekend including the green-marked “Intermediate” and blue-marked “Full Wet” tyres in case of rain.

 

Drivers will have eight sets of the softs, three sets of the mediums and two sets of the harder compounds.

 

Sakhir Grand Prix Preview – DRS Zones

There will be two DRS Zones for the Sakhir Grand Prix weekend. The first detection point is 50 metres before turn one with the activation zone 23 metres after turn three. The second detection point is 108 metres before turn 14 with the second activation zone 170 metres after the final corner.

 

ICYMI – Hamilton cruises to dominant Bahrain GP victory as Grosjean survives horrific crash

 

 

Lewis Hamilton cruised to a dominant victory in a wild Bahrain GP, which ended under a safety car and saw a horrific, fiery accident involving Haas F1 Team’s Romain Grosjean on the opening lap.

 

The Grand Prix was also interrupted by two safety cars in incidents that saw a double retirement for both BWT Racing Point F1 Team drivers, but the race will be remembered for the scariest accident on the first tour involving Grosjean escaping his burning VF-20 racer after crashing through one of the circuit’s barriers after suffering a tangle with AlphaTauri’s Daniil Kvyat.

 

When the 57 lap Bahrain Grand Prix began, Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas made a slow run off the line from second whilst Mercedes team-mate Hamilton pulled clear and the Finn was rapidly passed by Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen and Racing Point’s Sergio Perez on the rundown to the first corner.

 

Bottas was then hauled by the other Red Bull of Alexander Albon and Renault’s Daniel Ricciardo at the right-hand opening turn and lost momentum as he entered the second corner, it appeared to set off a spark of reactions in the field behind.

 

McLaren’s Lando Norris had to check his mirrors, which brought him into line with the second Renault of Esteban Ocon and AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly, which tangled at turn two and caused Norris to slow again and left him with damage to his front wing.

 

The following Ferrari duo of Charles Leclerc and Sebastian Vettel and Racing Point’s Lance Stroll had to run wide to avoid the rear of Norris’ MCL35 racer, which sent Stroll wide, and the field bunched up again going through the third corner right kink, which slowed the pack at the back of the midfield again.

 

The drivers at the back of the field – including Grosjean – thus quickly caught up to those ahead, and in reaction the Frenchman swerved right across the track, striking AlphaTauri’s Kvyat and sending the Haas straight into the barriers.

 

Grosjean’s VF-20 racer was split in half by the impact, with its fuel tank erupting in flames and the front-half of the car spearing through the barrier.

 

Grosjean was able to extract himself out of the burning wreckage, jumping back onto the circuit-side of the fence and into he arms of FIA’s medical delegate Dr Ian Roberts, who arrived on the scene with medical driver Alan van der Merwe moments after the impact.

 

The red-flagged was brought out, just as the front-runners were exiting turn six, and the Grand Prix was suspended for an hour and 20 minutes while Grosjean was taken to the track’s medical centre by ambulance and then airlifted to the BDF Military Hospital for further evaluation.

 

His Haas team explained at first, he suffered minor burns to his hand and ankles, then gave a further update that he suffered suspected broken ribs.

 

The pierced barrier was removed and replaced with a set of concrete blocks, which was installed under the supervision of FIA race director Michael Masi.

 

The race resumed on lap three, with Hamilton on pole position again in-front of Verstappen and Perez, with Bottas back up to fourth as the field was set by the positions at the second safety car line during the first start.

 

Hamilton once again took a great run from the line, with Bottas momentarily challenging Perez and Verstappen ahead of him, but it was the Dutchman that had to defend from the Racing Point at turn one.

 

Perez was pushed out on the outside line, which brought him under-pressure from Bottas as the field raced through the rest of the opening sector.

 

But the race was halted again when Stroll and Kvyat collided together at the turn eight hairpin, with the latter on the inside and flipping Stroll’s RP20 when it hit the Racing Point’s right rear, with Vettel forced to slam the brakes of his Ferrari and Haas F1 Team’s Kevin Magnussen damaging his front wing against the slowing SF1000 in-front of him.

 

As Stroll was stuck upside down, the safety car was deployed onto the circuit as he climbed out, during which Mercedes had to pit Bottas who suffered a puncture, which relegated him from fourth to 16^th as he emerged on the C2 hard compounds.

 

The race went green on the ninth lap, with Hamilton building a 0.7 second gap to Verstappen by nailing the final corner spot on compared to Verstappen as they returned to racing speed.

 

The top duo rapidly moved clear of Perez, as they were the only two drivers lapping in the 1:34’s, but just after a few tours at that pace Verstappen started to fall back.

 

By the 14^th lap, Hamilton edged two seconds clear of Verstappen, briefly lapping in the 1:33’s as Verstappen posted 1:35’s, and the Briton continued to pull away across the rest of the initial stint.

 

Hamilton stopped at the end of lap 19 for a set of C3 mediums with a gap of 4.6 seconds, with Verstappen and Perez pitting at the end of the following tour – where they switched for C2 hards, as both drivers had two sets of the more durable rubber for the Grand Prix compared to Hamilton’s sole set he had available.

 

When the stops took place, Hamilton lead the race by 5.5 seconds at the beginning of lap 22, but Verstappen told his team he’ll go “full send” and brought the gap down by a full second and then posted a fastest lap.

 

The front-two kept switching fastest lap times in the 1:33 and 1:34 range before Hamilton re-established his five second advantage by the end of the 30^th tour.

 

Red Bull opted to go aggressive for Verstappen, pitting him for the second time on lap 34, swapping back onto the mediums, but the stop was longer than three seconds.

 

After Mercedes pitted race leader Hamilton for harder tyres at the end of the following tour, Verstappen was 3.7 seconds behind after a quick out-lap and initial flying effort, as Perez pitted in-between the two front-runners.

 

In a close copy of the second stint, Verstappen was able to switch fastest lap times with Hamilton before starting to fall back – posting 1:34’s again after for a brief period running in the 1:32’s after his second stop on lap 46.

 

Hamilton had pushed his lead up to five seconds again by that lap, at the end of which Red Bull decided to bring in Verstappen for a third stop to take on another set of mediums as he had enough time over Racing Point’s Perez.

 

Verstappen immediately set the fastest lap of a 1:32.014 as Mercedes left Hamilton out with a 30 second gap.

 

This was cut down to over 20 seconds, although it looked as though Hamilton had the race under control, when Perez’s engine suddenly spewed plooms of smoke as he ran down the main straight with four tours remaining.

 

The Mexican slowed down as his power-train eventually caught fire, after which he pulled off on the back-straight and the safety car was deployed again.

 

Mercedes were considering pitting Hamilton again but opted not to as the gap between the Briton and Verstappen was touch and go, judging that the Grand Prix would finish under the safety car, which it did.

 

Hamilton crossed the line to take his 95^th-career victory at the Bahrain GP ahead of Verstappen by 1.254 seconds as Albon joined the Mercedes driver and his Red Bull team-mate as a result of Perez’s issue, with McLaren’s Norris and Carlos Sainz taking fourth and fifth respectively – the latter making the softer rubber work to perfection during the initial stint.

 

Gasly was the sole driver in the field to complete a one-stop strategy (Alfa Romeo Racing’s Antonio Giovinazzi pitted for a second time under the safety car and fell to 16^th) as the AlphaTauri driver came home sixth despite being overtaken by the McLaren pairing later and looking as if he’ll also be passed from Ricciardo behind without the safety car.

 

Bottas recovered his Mercedes to eighth after making small progress following his puncture, making three stops in total on his way back up the field, and then was hit with a second puncture during the second safety car, which he was able to hobble home for the finish.

 

Renault’s Ocon finished ninth having been in a big fight with team-mate Ricciardo during the middle stage of the Grand Prix, with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc completing the top ten.

 

AlphaTauri’s Kvyat was 11^th and in-front of Williams Racing’s George Russell who took 12^th, Ferrari’s Vettel who settled for 13^th and the second Williams FW43 of Nicholas Latifi who was 14^th.

 

Alfa Romeo Racing duo Kimi Raikkonen and Antonio Giovinazzi finished 15^th and 16^th respectively as Haas F1 Team’s Kevin Magnussen brought up the rear.

 

Click here for the full Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix 2020 Race Results Classification.

 

The Situation

 

 

Lewis Hamilton sits on top of the standings with the World Driver’s Championship secured, on 332 points and a 131-point lead over Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas who is second on 201 points while Max Verstappen is a further 143 points behind the Briton in third on 189 points.

 

Mercedes AMG Petronas Motorsport comes into the Sakhir Grand Prix weekend with the World Constructors Championship wrapped up, in P1 on the standings with 533 points and a 259-point advantage over nearest rivals Aston Martin Red Bull Racing who are second on 274 points, meanwhile McLaren Racing are a further 362 points behind the Silver Arrows in third place on 171 points.

 

Sakhir Grand Prix Preview – F1 Quick-Fire News

 

 

• World Champions Mercedes will be without their seven-time Driver’s Champion Lewis Hamilton this weekend after the Briton tested positive for COVID-19. Hamilton who secured this season’s World Driver’s title crown at the Turkish Grand Prix and won last weekend’s Bahrain GP, was tested three times last weekend including Sunday afternoon, returning three negative tests according to the Brackley-based outfit. However, on Monday morning, the Briton woke up showing mild symptoms and was informed at the same time that a contact prior to arriving in Bahrain had tested positive. Hamilton took another test, and this time returned a positive result. A retest confirmed the result. Hamilton is currently isolating in accordance with coronavirus protocols and public health guidelines in Bahrain. Mercedes have confirmed the Briton’s replacement will be Williams Racing’s George Russell who will pilot the F1 W11 EQ Power+ racer.

 

• Hitech Grand Prix Formula 2 driver Nikita Mazepin has been confirmed as Haas F1 Team driver for the 2021 FIA Formula One World Championship season after signing a multi-year deal with the Kannapolis-Banbury squad. The 21-year-old sits third in the F2 Driver’s Championship with one round remaining, having scored two victories and four podiums in his second campaign in the feeder series. The Russian joins Haas after testing for Force India in 2016, 17 and 18 along with World Champions Mercedes last year. “Becoming a Formula 1 driver is a lifelong dream come true for me,” explained Mazepin. “I really appreciate the trust being put in me by Gene Haas, Guenther Steiner, and the whole of the team. They’re giving a young driver an opportunity and I thank them for that.

 

• Brazilian driver Pietro Fittipaldi will make his Formula 1 debut for Haas F1 Team this weekend, taking the place of Romain Grosjean who sustained injuries in a horrific crash at last round’s Bahrain Grand Prix. Fittipaldi, grandson of two-time F1 World Champion Emerson Fittipaldi, is Haas’s reserve driver and has spent two seasons with the Kannapolis-Banbury outfit. Haas F1 Team Principal Guenther Steiner said after visiting Grosjean in hospital on Monday that the Frenchman needed “at least one race off” to recover as he heals from his burns to his hands.

 

• Red Bull Racing’s Alexander Albon has until the end of the season to prove himself worthy of a drive in 2021 according to Team Principal Christian Horner – even if outgoing Racing Point driver Sergio Perez is under consideration. It has been a difficult season for Albon, struggling to match the pace of team-mate Max Verstappen, with his best result being P4 in Styria and showed flashes of his potential by scoring a podium in Mugello and also last weekend in Bahrain, giving the Thai-Briton a great chance of securing his 2021 drive. Perez who has been branded as the favourite to get the seat if Red Bull opt to change, with the Mexican likely to take a year off if the Red Bull spot doesn’t come to fruition. But with some time on their side, Team Principal Christian Horner is happy to give Albon both Grands Prix to prove himself. “No decisions will be made until after the final race,” explained Horner. “Alex, we’re giving him every opportunity. We want him to succeed, I think we were clear with that all along, and days like [Sunday] help him but there’s two further races and Sergio [Perez] is doing the best job that he can to ensure that he remains under consideration. [Bahrain] was Alex’s good fortune with that podium, but Alex has had a good day and of course there’s still two further races to go. “Alex drove a good race. Sergio was unlucky, Alex benefitted from his misfortune, and that’s what we’re needing to see from Alex. His recovery from Friday was strong, obviously after the off that he had, he qualified fourth and was there to capitalise on Sergio’s misfortune. He’s finished on the podium, it’s our first double podium since Japan 2017, it’s our first podium in Bahrain since 2013, so I think it was a good day for Alex.” Horner concluded.

 

• Williams Racing confirmed that Reserve and Campos Racing F2 driver Jack Aitken will race in this weekend’s Sakhir Grand Prix alongside Nicholas Latifi. The 25-year-old takes the seat from regular George Russell, whom the Grove-based outfit released to allow the latter to drive for Mercedes in Bahrain as Lewis Hamilton unable to race due to testing positive for coronavirus. George Russell explained: “Firstly, I want to say a huge thank you to everybody at Williams for giving me this opportunity. I might be wearing a different race suit this weekend, but I’m a Williams driver and I’ll be cheering my team on every step of the way. I see this as a great chance to learn from the best outfit on the grid right now and to come back as an improved driver, with even more energy and experience to help push Williams further up the grid. A big thank you also to Mercedes for putting their faith in me. Obviously, nobody can replace Lewis, but I’ll give my all for the team in his absence from the moment I step in the car. Most importantly, I wish him a speedy recovery. I’m really looking forward to the opportunity and can’t wait to get out on track this week.” Aitken added: “I’m absolutely over the moon to have the opportunity to make my debut with Williams this coming weekend and I am extremely happy for George to have his chance too! I really mean it when I say I’ve felt very much at home here since I joined Williams earlier this year, so to get my chance to help the team try to achieve that elusive points finish is an extremely satisfying occasion to say the least. I’ll be doing all I can to prepare in the coming days, but truthfully, I feel like I have been ready since Melbourne. I also want to wish Lewis well in his recovery, and good luck to George getting the chance to drive the Mercedes this weekend.”

 

• Haas F1 Team completed it’s all-new driver line-up for 2021 with Mick Schumacher stepping up to partner Nikita Mazepin also on a multi-year deal. Schumacher gets his first chance on preparing for his full-time F1 drive by taking part in FP1 at the season-closing Abu Dhabi Grand Prix as well as running in the post-season young driver test at the Yas Marina Circuit. The young-German is son of seven-time Formula 1 World Champion Michael Schumacher, a member of the Ferrari Driver Academy, and currently leading the Formula 2 Drivers Championship by 14 points heading into this weekend’s final round in Bahrain. Schumacher has scored 10 podium finishes for Prema Racing including a pair of impressive feature race victories in Monza and Sochi. “I’m very pleased that we’re able to confirm Mick Schumacher in our driver lineup for next season and I look forward to welcoming him into the team,” explained Team Principal of Haas F1 Team, Guenther Steiner. “The Formula 2 Championship has long served as a proving ground for talent to showcase their credentials and this year’s field has undoubtedly been one of the most competitive in recent seasons. Mick has won races, collected podiums and excelled against some pretty exceptional talent in 2020. I firmly believe he’s earned the opportunity to graduate into Formula 1 based on his performances. We have an opportunity ahead of us, as a team, to evaluate and nurture a new driver given our familiarity with our race package heading into 2021. We are putting in place our building blocks for the continued long-term growth of the team and I look forward to Mick’s contributions both on and off the track in that process.” Steiner concluded.

 

Click here for the 2020 Formula 1 World Driver’s (Top 10) and Constructors Championship Standings.

 

The Formula 1 Rolex Sakhir Grand Prix 2020 race weekend begins Friday December 4 with Free Practice 1 and 2, followed by Free Practice 3 and Qualifying Saturday December 5 and the 87 lap Race Sunday November 6.