Your guide to the 2016 Bahrain Grand Prix

The Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix is a Formula One Championship race took place for the first time 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, and was given the award for the “Best Organized Grand Prix” by the FIA.

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’.

Since 2014, the race has held as a night race under floodlights. It became the second Formula One night race after the Singapore Grand Prix.

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 honor of his achievements.

 

Bahrain Grand Prix, Round two of the 2016 Formula 1 season

 

Circuit Name: Bahrain International Circuit (Sakhir) – Race Circuit

Race Laps: 51

Circuit Length: 308.405 km (191.634 mi)

Race Length: 308.405 km (191.634 mi)

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

DRS Zone: Two Zones (Zone 1 between turn 10 and 11, Zone 2 between turn 15 and 1 Start/Finish)

Circuit Direction: Clockwise

Pole Position 2015: Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:32.571

Lap Record: 2004 Michael Schumacher – Ferrari 1:30.252

 

Bahrain Grand Prix Circuit – Bahrain International Circuit

 

 

 

Pirelli used compounds

Pirelli will bring the following three compounds to the second round of the 2016 Formula One season in Bahrain, to be held (1 – 4 April) on The Bahrain International Circuit.

 

P Zero White medium
P Zero Yellow soft
P Zero Red super soft

The tires that Pirelli has said must be used at some point in the race:
One set of P Zero White medium
One set of P Zero Yellow soft
Each driver must have both these sets available for the race, and must use at least one of them.

The tires assigned for Q3 in qualifying:
One set of P Zero Red super soft.

Following the regulations, each driver must save for Q3 one set of the softest of the three nominated compounds. This set will be given back to Pirelli after Q3 for those who qualify in the top 8, but the remaining drivers will keep it for the race – as is the case currently.

The teams are free to choose the remaining sets; making up 13 sets in total for the weekend.

The new 2016 tire regulations mean that tire nomination for long-haul events have to be made 14 weeks in advance, whereas for European races the deadline is eight weeks in advance.

HOW IT WAS A YEAR AGO:         

Winner: Hamilton (two stops: started on soft, changed to soft on lap 15, medium on lap 33).

Best-placed alternative strategy: Raikkonen, second (also stopping twice, but starting on soft, changing to medium on lap 17, then soft on lap 40).        

There were a mixture of two and three-stoppers. Vettel was fifth, with an unscheduled three-stopper (final stop to replace a nosecone and take on new tyres)       

PAUL HEMBERY, PIRELLI MOTORSPORT DIRECTOR:                      

“The new tyre regulations for 2016 proved to be a big success, providing many different strategy options and talking points for all the teams in Australia. Bahrain is a very different type of circuit, with tyre behaviour affected by a big drop in temperature as the race goes on. This provides a different set of challenges and parameters, so it will be interesting to see who has learned most from Australia in order to take best advantage of another new situation. There are some quite diverse choices from the teams, which will play a key role in the race outcome.”

 

Drivers / Teams compound choices

Team	Car #	Driver	Medium	Soft	Super Soft
Mercedes AMG	44	Lewis Hamilton	1	6	6
	6	Nico Rosberg	1	6	6
Scuderia Ferrari	5	Sebastian Vettel	3	4	6
	7	Kimi Raikkonen	3	4	6
Williams-Mercedes	19	Felipe Massa	3	3	7
	77	Valtteri Bottas	3	3	7
Red Bull Racing	3	Daniel Ricciardo	2	5	6
	26	Daniil Kvyat	2	5	6
Force India-Mercedes	11	Sergio Perez	2	5	6
	27	Nico Hulkenberg	2	5	6
Renault	20	Kevin Magnussen	1	5	7
	30	Jolyon Palmer	1	5	7
Toro Rosso-Ferrari	33	Max Verstappen	1	7	5
	55	Carlos Sainz Jr.	2	6	5
Sauber-Ferrari	9	Marcus Ericsson	3	5	5
	12	Felipe Nasr	4	5	5
McLaren-Honda	14	Fernando Alonso	3	4	6
	22	Jenson Button	3	4	6
Manor-Mercedes	88	Rio Haryanto	4	5	4
	94	Pascal Wehrlein	4	5	4
Haas-Ferrari	8	Romain Grosjean	2	4	7
	21	Esteban Gutierrez	1	5	7

 

Australian Grand Prix Winners (By year)

 

Year	Driver	Constructor	Configuration
2015	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	Sakhir Grand Prix Circuit
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)

 

Number of wins	Driver	Years
3	Fernando Alonso	2005, 2006, 2010
2	Felipe Massa	2007, 2008
	Sebastian Vettel	2012, 2013
	Lewis Hamilton	2014, 2015

 

 

Multiple Winners (Constructors)

 

Number of wins	Constructor	Years
4	Ferrari	2004, 2007, 2008, 2010
2	Renault	2005, 2006
	Red Bull	2012, 2013
	Mercedes	2014, 2015

 

 

 

Numbers and Facts

 

Most wins (driver): Alonso 3 ( 2005 – 2006 – 2010)

Most wins (constructor): Ferrari 4 (2004 – 2007 – 2008 – 2010)

Wins from pole position: 5 Most recent 2015 (Hamilton – Mercedes)

Lowest grid for past winner: 4 (Alonso 2006 and Button 2009)

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

Most emphatic win: 16.099 – 2010 (Alonso – Massa)

Closest winning margin: 1.085 – 2014 (Hamilton – Rosberg)

Rain-affected races: 1 (2004)

Safety Car-affected races: 2 – (2007 – 2014)

Fastest race: 2004 – 57 laps at 1hr 28m 34.875

Slowest race: 2014 – 57 laps at 1hr 35m 42.743

Most pole positions (driver): 2 – Michael Schumacher (2004 – 2006), Sebastian Vettel (2010 – 2011) Nico Rosberg (2013 – 2014)

Most pole positions (constructor): 3 – Ferrari (2004, 2006, 2007)

 

What Happened last race here?

Lewis Hamilton, who was the defending race winner, came into the race with a 13-point lead over Sebastian Vettel after his victory a week prior in China. He took the 42nd pole position of his career during Saturday’s qualifying, and his fourth in a row. In the race, Hamilton managed to win from Kimi Räikkönen and Nico Rosberg, taking his 36th race victory.

Prior to the start, McLaren confirmed that they were unable to get Jenson Button’s car to the grid, as the data indicated some electrical issues.

 

2015 Race Classification

Pos.	Driver	Constructor	Time/Retired	Grid
1	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	1:35:05.8	1
2	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	+3.38	4
3	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	+6.033	3
4	Valtteri Bottas	Williams-Mercedes	+42.957	5
5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	+43.989	2
6	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing-Renault	+1:01.751	7
7	Romain Grosjean	Lotus-Mercedes	+1:24.763	10
8	Sergio Pérez	Force India-Mercedes	+1 Lap	11
9	Daniil Kvyat	Red Bull Racing-Renault	+1 Lap	17
10	Felipe Massa	Williams-Mercedes	+1 Lap	6
11	Fernando Alonso	McLaren-Honda	+1 Lap	14
12	Felipe Nasr	Sauber-Ferrari	+1 Lap	12
13	Nico Hülkenberg	Force India-Mercedes	+1 Lap	8
14	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber-Ferrari	+1 Lap	13
15	Pastor Maldonado	Lotus-Mercedes	+1 Lap	18
16	Will Stevens	Marussia-Ferrari	+2 Laps	20
17	Roberto Merhi	Marussia-Ferrari	+3 Laps	19
Ret	Max Verstappen	Toro Rosso-Renault	Electrical	15
Ret	Carlos Sainz, Jr.	Toro Rosso-Renault	Wheel hub	9
DNS	Jenson Button	McLaren-Honda	Power Unit	—1
Pastor Maldonado mistakingly lined up in 18th position on the starting grid. This pushed Will Stevens behind him one row down as well, while the 16th slot was left vacant. Maldonado received a 5-second penalty as a result

 

 

Did you know?

DRIVERS

✪ Lewis Hamilton will be looking for his 44th F1 career win aboard of course car ♯44.

✪ Hamilton scored his 50th F1 career pole in Australia.

✪ Hamilton has set 32 of his pole positions to date on Pirelli tyres. It is 1 more than any other driver in the history of F1 (Vettel next-best with 31)

✪ Hamilton is now just 18 pole positions from equalling Michael Schumacher’s all-time record of 68 F1 GP pole positions. Since he has

been at Mercedes he has taken pole 24 times already. That is over 40% of all races he’s started for the team! (24/ 57 = 42%)

✪ Hamilton has won (43) 25.6% of all GP he’s started (168) and is in the top 10 drivers races to win ratio of all-time. This is how he compares:-

1. Fangio 47.0%, 2. Ascari 40.6%, 3. Clark 34.7%, 4. M.Schumacher 29.7%, 5. Ja.Stewart 27.2% 6. Vettel 26.4% (42/ 159), 7.Hamilton 25.6%
2. Prost 25.6%, 9. Senna 25.5%, 10. Moss 24.2%

✪ Hamilton failed to lead a race lap in Australia. It was the first time had failed to lead a single race lap since Singapore last year (7 races ago)

✪ Nico Rosberg has won the past 4 GP. It represents his best run since he won the last 4 races of his DEU F.BMW title winning season in 2002

✪ A 4th win in a row for Rosberg in Australia equalled the best runs of current drivers Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button and also that of past

aces, Jochen Rindt, Ayrton Senna, Alain Prost and Damon Hill. The best ever run of wins by a driver is 9 by Sebastian Vettel (BEL – BRA 2013)

✪ In fact EVERY driver who has previously won 4 GP in a row has also won the F1 World title at some point in their career

✪ A 5th F1 GP win in a row for Rosberg will equal the best runs of Jack Brabham, Jim Clark and Nigel Mansell AND the best to date of Hamilton

✪ Rosberg to date has scored 1,234.5 World Championship points, the 5th highest total in F1 history. But, did you spot the sequence? 1, 2, 3…

✪ Rosberg in Bahrain will equal Nigel Mansell’s F1 career total of 187 GP starts

✪ Sebastian Vettel equalled Ayrton Senna’s 80 F1 GP podiums in Australia (and also his teammate Kimi Raikkonen)

✪ Vettel in Bahrain will equal Johnny Herbert’s F1 career total of 160 GP starts

COSNTRUCTORS

✪ Mercedes aiming for an 8th pole in a row to beat their second-best run in F1 date (7, Australia 2014 to Canada 2014 inclusive). Mercedes’

best-ever run of pole positions in F1 is 23 (Great Britain 2014 to Italy 2015 inclusive), beaten only by Williams’s run of 24 poles in 1992 – 93

✪ Mercedes won its 46th F1 World Championship race victory in Australia. To date Mercedes has won just over one-third of all the F1 GP it has

has competed in (46 wins/ 128 races = 35.9%).

✪ Mercedes is now just 4 wins behind Red Bull’s F1 career total of 50

✪ A win on Sunday would be Mercedes’s 8th win in a row and would equal their best-ever run to date, 8 (Italy 2014 to Australia 2015 inclusive)

✪ Mercedes has now finished in points for the last 59 GP in a row, which ranks the 3rd-best run of all-time. The record is 81 by Ferrari

✪ Ferrari is now just 3 podiums short of their 700th F1 GP race podium (currently 697 – most recent, Sebastian Vettel, 3rd in Australia 2016)

✪ McLaren will celebrate 50 years of F1 in Monaco later this season

✪ In Qualifying in Australia the closest-matched teammates were MRT’s Rio Haryanto and Pascal Wehrlein. Just 0.015 split the MRT pair (Q1).

The most mismatched teammates in Australia were Haas’s Romain Grosjean and Esteban Gutierrez where 1.284 separated the pair (also Q1)

✪ Haas in Australia became the first North American team and constructor to score points since Italy ‘86 (6th), the first new team to score on

their debut since Toyota in ‘02 (6th Australia) and the first new constructor to score on their debut since Brawn in ‘09 (1st and 2nd in Australia)

BAHRAIN GRAND PRIX

✪ Nico Rosberg has finished on the podium here for the past 2 years but has yet to win a F1 Bahrain GP. He did though confirm his GP2 tile

here in 2005 with victory in both the Feature and the Sprint races

✪ Fernando Alonso has won the most Bah GP (3). One of Lewis Hamilton, Sebastian Vettel or Felipe Massa could equal his record on Sunday

✪ Lewis Hamilton chasing a 3rd straight Bahrain GP win on Sunday. If he wins he will be the first driver to claim a hat-trick of Bahrain GP victories

 

World Drivers’ Championship standings

Pos.	Constructor	Points
1	Mercedes	43
2	Ferrari	15
3	Williams-Mercedes	14
4	Red Bull-TAG Heuer	12
5	Haas-Ferrari	8
6	Force India-Mercedes	6
7	Toro Rosso-Ferrari	3
8	Renault	0
9	McLaren-Honda	0
10	Sauber-Ferrari	0
11	MRT-Mercedes	0

 

 

World Constructors’ Championship standings

Pos.	Driver	Points
1	Nico Rosberg	25
2	Lewis Hamilton	18
3	Sebastian Vettel	15
4	Daniel Ricciardo	12
5	Felipe Massa	10
6	Romain Grosjean	8
7	Nico Hülkenberg	6
8	Valtteri Bottas	4
9	Carlos Sainz, Jr.	2
10	Max Verstappen	1
11	Jolyon Palmer	0
12	Kevin Magnussen	0
13	Sergio Pérez	0
14	Jenson Button	0
15	Felipe Nasr	0
16	Pascal Wehrlein	0
—	Marcus Ericsson	0
—	Kimi Räikkönen	0
—	Rio Haryanto	0
—	Esteban Gutiérrez	0
—	Fernando Alonso	0
—	Daniil Kvyat	0

 

Drivers penalty points:

Driver	Penalty points
Max Verstappen	8
Marcus Erricson	4
Romain Grosjean	4
Sebastian Vettel	3
Kimi Raikkonen	3
Nico Hulkenberg	2
Lewis Hamilton	2
Valtteri Bottas	2
Daniil Kvyat	2
Fernando Alonso	2
Jenson Button	2
Rio Haryanto	2