Bahrain GP 2019: History, Stats & Facts

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The first race took place at the Bahrain International Circuit on 4 April 2004. It made history as the first Formula One Grand Prix to be held in the Middle East.

The Bahrain Grand Prix has usually been the third race of the Formula One calendar. However, in the 2006 season, Bahrain swapped places with the traditional opener, the Australian Grand Prix, which was pushed back to avoid a clash with the Commonwealth Games. In 2010, Bahrain staged the opening race of the 2010 season and the cars drove the full 6.299 km (3.914 mi) "Endurance Circuit" to celebrate F1's 'diamond jubilee'.

In 2014, to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the first staging of the Bahrain Grand Prix, the race was held as a night event under floodlights. In so doing it became the second Formula One night race after the Singapore Grand Prix in 2008. Bahrain's inaugural night event was won by Lewis Hamilton. Subsequent races have also been night races.

Shortly after the Formula One February 2014 testing, Grand Prix organizers for Bahrain announced a decision to name the first corner of the iconic track after former seven-time champion German driver Michael Schumacher in honour of his achievements and also in support after the driver suffered an almost fatal skiing accident late December 2013.

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Bahrain Grand Prix, Round Two of the 2019 Formula 1 season

Circuit Name: Bahrain International Circuit (Permanent Circuit)

Race Laps: 57

Circuit Length: 5.412 km (3.363 mi)

Race Length: 308.405 km (191.634 mi)

Number of corners: 15 (9 Right, 6 Left)

Circuit direction: Clockwise

Distance from pole to T1 apex: 346.1 m

Pole position 2018: Sebastian Vettel – Ferrari 1:27.958

Pole position side: Left

Pit lane length under speed limit control: 420.1 m

Drive-through time at 80 km/h: 18.9s

Lap time at full throttle: 64%

Lap distance at full throttle: 75%

Gear changes per lap: 56

Braking events (>2G): 7

Heavy braking events (4G): 4

Fuel consumption: Medium

Maximum lateral G-force: 4.0 (T7)

Maximum speed: 325.6 km/h

Track evolution (P1 – Qualifying): Medium

DRS zones: T3-4/ T10-11 / T15-1

Key overtaking opportunities: T1 / T4 / T11

Race lap record: 1:31.447 – Pedro de la Rosa, Mclraen-Mercedes 2005

Absolute lap record: 1:27.958 Sebastian Vettel – Ferrari, Q3, 2018

Bahrain International Circuit

2000px Bahrain International Circuit Grand Prix LayoutJPEG

Pirelli used compounds

Tyres that must be available (one of them to be used) at some point in the race:

One set of Hard C1 (White)

One set of Medium C2 (Yellow)

Tyres assigned for Q3 in qualifying:                     

One set of Soft C3 (Red)

Teams/Drivers compounds choice

Nbr

Driver

Hard C1

Medium C2

Soft C3

44

Lewis Hamilton

1

3

9

77

Valtteri Bottas

1

3

9

5

Sebastian Vettel

1

3

9

16

Charles Leclrec

1

3

9

33

Max Verstappen

1

3

9

10

Pierre Gasly

2

3

8

3

Daniel Ricciardo

2

1

10

27

Nico Hulkenberg

1

2

10

20

Kevin Magnussen

1

3

9

8

Romain Grosjean

2

2

9

55

Carlos Sainz

2

3

8

4

Lando Norris

2

3

8

11

Sergio Perez

1

3

9

18

Lance Stroll

1

3

9

7

Kimi Raikkonen

1

3

9

99

Antonio Giovinazzi

1

3

9

26

Daniil Kvyat

1

2

10

23

Alexander Albon

1

2

10

63

George Russell

2

3

8

88

Robert Kubica

1

4

8

THE CIRCUIT FROM A TYRE POINT OF VIEW:

  • The track surface at Bahrain is very abrasive, having originally been build using granite from England: one of the reasons why the hardest compounds are selected.
  • Track temperatures can fall quite dramatically as the race heads into the evening. This can have an effect on strategy as well, by lengthening the stints.
  • A one-stopper was the winning strategy last year in Bahrain, although most drivers stopped twice. The race came down a highly tactical battle, with many drivers completing long stints.
  • Bahrain is all about acceleration, braking and traction rather than fast corners, and it is a rear-limited track – making it important to look after the rear tyres.
  • The late afternoon race and qualifying means that FP2 is the only directly relevant free practice session, so the majority of simulation work will be compressed into those 90 minutes.

MARIO ISOLA - HEAD OF CAR RACING

“We have seen some exciting tactical battles previously in Bahrain, notably last year, and hopefully there is even more potential for that this year. The C1 and C2 compounds that are the hard and medium choices this weekend are actually a little softer than the hard and medium tyres last year, which should make them even more well suited to the track. Although the key to Bahrain is managing the rear tyres, not many teams have chosen an extra set of the hard compound. As always, the challenge consists of dealing with the traction demands on a variable track with falling temperatures, as well as the roughest asphalt of the year”.

 SAKHIR MINIMUM STARTING PRESSURES AND EOS CAMBER LIMIT (SLICKS)

 

 

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Bahrain Grand Prix Winners 2004 – 2018

Year

Driver

Constructor

Configuration

2018

Sebastian Vettel

Ferrari

Sakhir Grand Prix Circuit

2017

Sebastian Vettel

Ferrari

2016

Nico Rosberg

Mercedes

2015

Lewis Hamilton

Mercedes

2014

Lewis Hamilton

Mercedes

2013

Sebastian Vettel

Red Bull-Renault

2012

Sebastian Vettel

Red Bull-Renault

2011

Not held

2010

Fernando Alonso

Ferrari

Sakhir Endurance Circuit

2009

Jenson Button

Brawn-Mercedes

Sakhir Grand Prix Circuit

2008

Felipe Massa

Ferrari

2007

Felipe Massa

Ferrari

2006

Fernando Alonso

Renault

2005

Fernando Alonso

Renault

2004

Michael Schumacher

Ferrari


Multiple Winners (Drivers)

Wins

Constructor

Years

6

 Ferrari

2004, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2017, 2018

3

 Mercedes

2014, 2015, 2016

2

 Renault

2005, 2006

 Red Bull

2012, 2013

 Multiple Winners (Constructors)

wins

Driver

Years

4

 Sebastian Vettel

2012, 2013, 2017, 2018

3

 Fernando Alonso

2005, 2006, 2010

2

 Felipe Massa

2007, 2008

 Sebastian Vettel

2012, 2013

 Lewis Hamilton

2014, 2015

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Numbers and Facts

Most wins (driver) 4 / Vettel 2012 – 2013 – 2017 – 2018

Most wins (constructor) 6 / Ferrari 2004 – 2007 – 2008 – 2010 – 2017 – 2018

Wins from pole position 6 / Most recent 2018 (Vettel – Ferrari)

Lowest grid for past winner 4 Alonso 2006 and Button 2009

Most recent 1-2 finish 2014 Hamilton – Rosberg (Mercedes

Most emphatic win (here) 16.099 / 2010 (Alonso – Massa)

Closest winning margin 1.085 / 2014 (Hamilton – Rosberg)

Rain affected races 1 / 2004

Safety Car-affected races 4 / 2007 – 2014 – 2017 – 2018

Most podiums (driver) 8 Raikkonen

Most podiums (constructor) 13 Ferrari

Most pole positions (driver) 3 Vettel 2010 – 2011 – 2018

Most pole positions (constructor) 5 Mercedes 2013 – 2014 – 2015 – 2016 – 2017

What Happened last race here?

In the race, Bottas overtook Räikkönen at the start whilst Vettel soared into the lead. Following the pit stops, Vettel kept his lead and was able to hold off Bottas in the final stages despite running on older, softer tyres, taking victory and his second consecutive win of the season. Hamilton, meanwhile, made his way through the midfield after he slightly fell behind at the start, while the retirements of Räikkönen, Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen promoted him to third, completing the podium.

2018 Race Classification

Pos.

Driver

Constructor

Laps

Time/Retired

Grid

1

Sebastian Vettel

Ferrari

57

 1:32:01.940

1

2

Valtteri Bottas

Mercedes

57

+0.699

3

3

Lewis Hamilton

Mercedes

57

+6.512

9

4

Pierre Gasly

Scuderia Toro Rosso-Honda

57

+1:02.234

5

5

Kevin Magnussen

Haas-Ferrari

57

+1:15.046

6

6

Nico Hülkenberg

Renault

57

+1:39.024

7

7

Fernando Alonso

McLaren-Renault

56

+1 lap

13

8

Stoffel Vandoorne

McLaren-Renault

56

+1 lap

14

9

Marcus Ericsson

Sauber-Ferrari

56

+1 lap

17

10

Esteban Ocon

Force India-Mercedes

56

+1 lap

8

11

Carlos Sainz Jr.

Renault

56

+1 lap

10

12

Charles Leclerc

Sauber-Ferrari

56

+1 lap

19

13

Romain Grosjean

Haas-Ferrari

56

+1 lap

16

14

Lance Stroll

Williams-Mercedes

56

+1 lap

20

15

Sergey Sirotkin

Williams-Mercedes

56

+1 lap

18

16

Sergio Pérez

Force India-Mercedes

56

+1 lap

12

17

Brendon Hartley

Scuderia Toro Rosso-Honda

56

+1 lap

11

Ret

Kimi Räikkönen

Ferrari

35

Wheel

2

Ret

Max Verstappen

Red Bull Racing-TAG Heuer

3

Transmission

15

Ret

Daniel Ricciardo

Red Bull Racing-TAG Heuer

1

Electrics

4

- Sergio Pérez originally finished in twelfth place but had thirty seconds added to race time for overtaking on the formation lap.

– Brendon Hartley originally finished in thirteenth place but had thirty seconds added to race time for failing to retake his original starting position before reaching the safety-car line on the formation lap.

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Did you know?

DRIVERS

Valtteri Bottas set fastest lap 7 times last season. It is the same number of set in 2018 by Hamilton, Vettel and Verstappen combined

Bottas has finished 1 more Grand Prix in the points than Mika Hakkinen (84:83)

Lewis Hamilton has won 31.7% of all GP he’s started (73 wins from 230 starts) and is in the top 10 drivers races to win ratio of all-time. Here’s how he compares:- 1Fangio 47.0%, 2. Ascari 40.6%, 3. Clark 34.7%, 4.L.Hamilton 31.7%, 5. M. Schumacher 29.7%, 6. Ja. Stewart 27.2%, 7. Prost 25.6%, 8. A. Senna 25.5%, Moss 24.2%, 10. Vettel 23.6% (52/220)

Hamilton is now the 10th most experienced (WC) Grand Prix driver of all-time in terms of number of races started (230). Next on the list is 9th-best DC (246). The most experienced driver of all-time is Rubens Barrichello (325).

Hamilton needs a podium result in all 21 races this season if he is to equal Michael Schumacher’s al-timerecord of 155 F1 podiums

Max Verstappen has already beaten Ayrton Senna’s career F1 World Championship points total (Senna 614, Verstappen currently 670)

Verstappen will be looking to continue his run of podium finishes (6 so far) that began in Japan last season

Sebastian Vettel will have to wait until at least Azerbaijan to lead 100 Grand Prix. He has to date led 98 (Grand Prix)

Nico Hulkenberg needs just 2 more championship points to equal Nigel Mansell’s F1 career total of 482 (F1 World Championship points)

Alexander Albon was 23 on 23rd March

CONSTRUCTORS

Mercedes scored their 102nd F1 World Championship pole position in Australia. The total is the 5th highest in the history of the championship. Mercedes’s next target is

4th-best Lotus with 107 pole positions. Top all-time is Ferrari with 219

Next win for Mercedes will be their 75th on Pirelli tyres (their 74 wins to date is already the most by any constructor on the Italian rubber)

Mercedes aiming in 2019 to equal Ferrari’s all-time record of 6 Constructor World titles in a row (Ferrari 1999-2004)

 Ferrari was the only team to score championship points in all 21 races last season

Bahrain marks the 200th race since Scuderia Toro Rosso scored their one and only, pole, win and podium to date (Monza 2008)

Bahrain marks the 700th race for Williams (taken from 1978 when WGPE first became a constructor)

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Driver’s Championship standing

Pos

Driver

Pts

1

Valtteri Bottas

26

2

Lewis Hamilton

18

3

Max Verstappen

15

4

Sebastian Vettel

12

5

Charles Leclerc

10

6

Kevin Magnussen

8

7

Nico Hülkenberg

6

8

Kimi Räikkönen

4

9

Lance Stroll

2

10

Daniil Kvyat

1

11

Pierre Gasly

0

12

Lando Norris

0

13

Sergio Pérez

0

14

Alexander Albon

0

15

Antonio Giovinazzi

0

16

George Russell

0

17

Robert Kubica

0

18

Romain Grosjean

0

19

Daniel Ricciardo

0

20

Carlos Sainz Jr.

0

 Constructor’s Championship standing

Pos.

Team

Pts

1

Mercedes

44

2

Ferrari

22

3

Red Bull Racing Honda

15

4

Haas Ferrari

8

5

Renault

6

6

Alfa Romeo Racing  Ferrari

4

7

Racing Point Mercedes

2

8

Scuderia Toro Rosso Honda

1

9

Mclaren Renault

0

10

Williams Mercedes

0

 Driver’s penalty points:

Driver

Penalty points

Romain Grosjean

7

Max Verstappen

7

Lance Stroll

7

Sergio Perez

5

Sebastian Vettel

5

Pierre Gasly

4

Valtteri Bottas

4

Nico Hulkenberg

3

Carlos Sainz

3

Kevin Magnussen

2

Kimi Raikkonen

2

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