Bahrain Grand Prix: track and statistics

The Kingdom of Bahrain is a group of 36 islands in the southern Arabian Gulf, between the east coast of Saudi Arabia and the Qatar Peninsula. The largest island is Bahrain, its area is 663 square kilometers. The capital Manama is the commercial center of the country and one of the free trade zones in the Persian Gulf region.

On September 14, 2002, the Kingdom of Bahrain signed a contract to host the Grand Prix, and construction soon began on a circuit that could host races 365 days a year. The project was developed by the architectural firm of Hermann Tilke, construction cost $ 150 million, the official opening took place on March 17, 2004 – two weeks before the debut Grand Prix, which was won by Michael Schumacher.

In 2010, a new track configuration of 6299 meters was used – a section was added in the area between the fourth and fifth turns, increasing the length of the circle by 887 meters, but in 2012 they returned to the previous version.

In 2011 the stage was canceled due to protests suppressed by the authorities; in 2012, the race’s fate was decided a week before the Grand Prix, but several major television companies refused to send journalists to Bahrain for security reasons. The situation has stabilized in recent years.

In 2014, the race in Bahrain was held under artificial lights for the first time and has since become a tradition. According to another tradition, due to local peculiarities, the racers on the podium are sprayed not with champagne, but with non-alcoholic soft drinks.

In 2020, two stages were held in Bahrain. First – on the classic version of the track, and a week later – along the outer edge, in which turns 4 and 13 were connected.

Track features

The circuit is demanding in terms of acceleration dynamics, efficiency and brake cooling. The cars are set to medium downforce. Racers drive 75% of the lap distance with the accelerator fully depressed, reaching speeds above 300 km/h three times during the lap.

The time lost during a pit stop is 18.6 seconds, the total pit stop time is 22.6 seconds. Tire wear on abrasive asphalt is high. Last year, most drivers drove the distance with two pit stops. The speed limit in the pit lane this weekend is 80 km/h.

This year there are three independent DRS zones on the circuit. The drivers can change the position of the controlled element of the rear wing on the straights between turns 3 and 4, between turns 10 and 11, and on the main straight.

The load on the cooling system in Bahrain is not as high as in Malaysia, but due to the sand on the track, teams install additional filters, which increases the problems.

There are almost no high-speed turns on the track; you can overtake while braking at the end of the straights. The long straight start and the relatively slow middle section force the engineers to seek the traditional compromise between downforce and speed.

Weekend schedule

You can follow the progress of all Formula 1 sessions on our live broadcast page.

Tire kits issued to teams for the weekend

For the third year in a row, tire manufacturers will bring the hardest compounds to Bahrain: C1, C2 and C3 in Hard, Medium and Soft roles.

One set of the softest tires must be saved for the final qualifying – then those who raced in the final must return this set to Pirelli.

One set of medium and hard tires must be kept for the race. Unless declared wet, drivers are required to use at least one of these sets.

Performance of current riders in Bahrain

Max Verstappen: “Based on the test results, we will start the season well. Several circuits await us, but the team, as always, strives for excellence, for progress at every stage – this will be our goal until the end of the season. We have worked positively during all three days of testing, we will see how the race weekend turns out.”