There’s a common theme among most drivers predictions for this weekend’s Sakhir Grand Prix, expect chaos.
For the second race in Bahrain, Formula 1 has done something very different by switching from the traditional GP layout which has been used for every race bar one since 2004, to the high-speed ‘Outer Circuit’.
This track essentially sees the three long straights connected by a shorter straight and a chicane at the top, leading to it being nicknamed the Bahrain ‘Oval’.
And with lap times of below 55s expected around the 3.5km circuit, drivers admit the pressure to be perfect is going to be higher than normal.
“It’s definitely going to be bonkers, that’s for sure,” said George Russell, who steps in at Mercedes to replace Lewis Hamilton for this weekend. “It’s also exciting because the lap times are going to be so close.
“I think everyone will be within a second in qualifying, so if you make one small mistake you can be losing loads of positions on Saturday.
“So it’s going to be about giving it absolutely everything you’ve got, making sure you nail the lap because there, more than anywhere, if you do make a mistake, you don’t have enough corners to make that lap time back up.
“It’s going to be a fight, and it will probably be a bit of a mess on Saturday because everyone will be looking for a slipstream,” he added. “There’s probably not enough space to fit 20 cars on there, and the racing’s going to be, well, pretty wacky.”
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In F1 terms, the circuit does have a lot of similarities to Monza, but AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly believed the style of racing could be more akin to what you see Stateside.
“For our second race there on the different layout, it’s going to be something completely different to usual as the track is almost an oval,” he commented.
“There are just four corners, so it will be a game of slipstreaming, like a mini F1 version of the Indianapolis 500.
“I’ve done a few laps of it on the simulator and the lap time is under one minute, so dealing with traffic won’t be easy.”
“In qualifying, we will play the team game, towing your teammate round and then being towed yourself,” the Frenchman added.
“There will be a lot of slipstreaming in the race, so it will be an interesting experience and a first time for everyone.
“I think it should be a spectacular race with a lot of overtaking and it will be interesting to see if it is almost too easy to overtake with the DRS.”
Last weekend, McLaren enjoyed one of their best results of the season in fourth and fifth, putting them in a commanding position in the fight for third in the Constructors’ standings.
But Lando Norris admits it is important the Woking-based team adapts to the challenge that awaits on the high-speed loop.
“The outer circuit is definitely going to be different to what we’re used to in F1 which is exciting,” he said.
“It could be quite a crazy race with not so many corners, several long straights and lap-times of less than a minute. I’m sure it’ll provide some great racing during the 87 laps.
“We had a good race last weekend that showed the hard work everyone in the team is putting in both at the track and back home.
“We’ve got two more races to go, so we’re going to knuckle down, keep focusing on ourselves and keep pushing hard to perform as best as we possibly can.”