10 Things You Didn’t Know About The Bahrain Grand Prix

Image source: Mercedes AMG Petronas

Following a Malaysian Grand Prix dominated by Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton, the F1 circus now swiftly heads to Bahrain for the third round of the season. Here are 10 things you didn't know about the race.

1. Track change

Image source: PlanetF1

For 2010, an extended layout of the Bahrain International Circuit was used. The lap distance increased from 3.36 to 3.91 miles and added nine new corners. However, fans and drivers were very critical of the change and F1 reverted back to the original track for Bahrain’s next F1 race in 2012.

2. Desert Déjà vu

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Incredibly, the top three drivers on the 2012 Bahrain Grand Prix podium finished in the exact same order at the following race 12 months later. Sebastian Vettel won both races, with Iceman Kimi Raikkonen and Romain Grosjean finishing in second and third respectively.

3. Success for Alonso

Image source: Ferrari

Fernando Alonso is the most successful F1 driver around the Sakhir circuit with three Bahrain Grand Prix victories to his name. The Spaniard won the race in 2005 and 2006 for Renault, before crossing the line in first place on his Ferrari debut in 2010. Felipe Massa and Sebastian Vettel have both won the race twice, with Michael Schumacher winning the inaugural round in 2004 and Jenson Button – who celebrates his 250th GP start this weekend - taking victory in 2009.

4. Under the lights

Image source: Bahrain International Circuit

To celebrate the 10th anniversary of the inaugural Bahrain Grand Prix, this year’s race will start as the sun sets and end under dark skies and 495 floodlights.

It will be the third race to take place at night after the Singapore Grand Prix and the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, which is worth double points in 2014.

5. Tribute to Schumi

Image source: Bahrain International Circuit

Earlier in the year, the Bahrain International Circuit announced that the first corner would be named after Michael Schumacher. The German remains in a coma at Grenoble University Hospital following a skiing accident last December.

The German, as mentioned earlier, won the first F1 race at the track but also advised the early stages of its development, as well as offering his own input into the design of the layout. He still holds the lap record.

6. Cost and construction

Image source: Ferrari

The 3.36 mile track was constructed between 2003 and early 2004. It wasn’t completely finished prior to its first race, but it was deemed good enough to host the race weekend. Finishing touches were made for the following year.

Overall, it cost the Bahraini government $150m (£90.4m) to build and has some of the best facilities on the calendar. Hermann Tilke designed the layout and is also responsible for six other tracks on this year’s schedule.

7. A sandy situation

Image source: Formula1.com

Due to the Sakhir circuit being located in the middle of a desert, sand can often cause problems and usually creates slippery, low grip conditions at the start of a race weekend.

In fact, it became such an issue during a pre-season test in 2009 (which was attended by Ferrari, BMW Sauber and Toyota) that the session was forced to be red flagged and remained suspended for the rest of the day. Ironically, the teams had chosen Bahrain as a test venue to avoid the wet weather in Europe…

8. Predictably warm

Image source: McLaren Mercedes

Unlike the previous round of the F1 season in Malaysia, the weather is almost always warm and dry for the Bahrain Grand Prix. The track is situated on the western edge of Bahrain Island, which averages just 70 millimetres of rainfall per year (in comparison, the UK’s figure is 1154.0 millimetres).

9. Forgive and forget

Image source: Sahara Force India F1 Team

The circuit is particularly forgiving with a large amount of run-off areas enabling drivers to get away with mistakes, spins and off-track excursions. To be more specific, there is 140,000 square metres of run-off, which is the equivalent of nearly 20 football pitches.

10. Starting at the front

Image source: LAT

The Bahrain Grand Prix has never been won from lower than fourth on the grid (Alonso in 2006, Button in 2009), and four of the nine races at the track have been won from pole position. No-one has started further back on the grid in Bahrain and managed a podium than Kimi Raikkonen. In 2006 he started 22nd and charged on to finish 3rd.