TheLatestfromthe2025ChineseGrandPrix
01Dune Warriors
To paraphrase the immortal Ferris Bueller, life moves pretty fast in F1, and just a few days after Max delivered a pole lap for the ages and a drive to victory that GP ranked as “pure perfection’, we’ve moved 5,000 miles southwest to the Kingdom of Bahrain and the season’s first twilight race.
After bagging a record four-in-a-row in Japan, in Bahrain Max is on the hunt for a hat-trick of wins having won the last two editions of this race. So, can he carry the momentum of Suzuka through to Sakhir? On Sunday Max was his usual guarded self. “Bahrain—completely different track, very tough on tyres, tyres overheating as well,” he said. “We still have work to do. But it does show that if we really nail everything, we can be up there. But from our side, we want to be better than just sometimes being up there. So, we just keep working hard and just see where we can be at in Bahrain already.”
Max Wins In Bahrain For The First Time Ever© Getty Images
On the other side of the garage, this weekend is another chance for Yuki to grab his first points in Red Bull Racing colours. The Bahrain International Circuit has been both cruel and kind to him in the past with points finishes in his first two outings here and P11 and P14 in the most recent pair. Our new recruit was left frustrated by not getting his tyre warn-up right for his final in Q2 last weekend and on a track with few overtaking opportunities it played out into a tough Sunday afternoon as he battled through to P12.
Despite the tough debut, Yuki’s upbeat about what his experience in Suzuka means for Bahrain. “Every lap of the 53 [in Suzuka], I was building up my confidence in the car. That confidence level is now completely different from the beginning of the weekend to now, I feel positive about that. I need to reset before Bahrain and I am sure compared to what I was feeling, in terms of car and in terms of confidence, it will naturally be better there. I’m excited for the next one.”
02Through The Lens: Bahrain Grand Prix 2024
Through The Lens: Bahrain Grand Prix 2024
Into The Light© Vladimir Rhys
Through The Visor© Vladimir Rhys
RB20 Reflections© Vladimir Rhys
Boom! First 1-2 Finish Of The Season© Vladimir Rhys
Your Podium Finisher This Weekend© Vladimir Rhys
Focus From Checo© Vladimir Rhys
First Qualiying, First Pole Of The Season© Vladimir Rhys
03Challenges and Key Factors
Tyres
The main challenge in Bahrain concerns the tyres. The surface at the BIC is highly abrasive and add that characteristic to high temperature and tyres take a proper beating. To cope with that Pirelli sticks with the most durable end of its spectrum and the C1, C2 and C3 compounds this weekend.
Weather
We’ve got pretty recent experience of Bahrain with the RB21 from pre-season testing. Back in late February it was unusually chilly, with temperatures in the mid-teens. And along with power cuts and stray vehicles on the circuit, there was even rain on day two.
The conditions this weekend are likely to be very different indeed with temperatures likely to be at 20˚C higher than those experienced in testing. While it’s unlikely that we’ll see the in-car cooling devices the FIA says it will mandate in the event of extreme conditions, the heat is likely to be challenging and expect most teams to test the system at some stage during the weekend.
Wind
It’s often a factor in Bahrain, not so much due to sane being blown on the track (as believe it or not that’s partially glued down) but because the direction of the gusts is unpredictable, and balance can be affected. Surprise wind-induced snaps are not uncommon here.
TrackChanges
Back On Track In Bahrain© Getty Images
As for the track itself, not much has changed since last year. The gravel bed at exit of heavy-braking Turn 4 has been extended, some drains close to the racing line have been moved into run-off areas and bumps on the pit straight and at Turn 9 have been repaired.
Strategy
So what does all the mean for strategy? For the past two years Max has won on a two-stop strategy. Last year started in a used set of Softs saved from Qualifying before switching to Hard tyres on lap 17. However, the bulk of the top 10 finishers, Max had only one set of C1’s in his armoury so closed out the race on a new set of Softs that lasted all the way from lap 36 to the flag on lap 57. Checo in P2 was the only other driver in the top 10 to match Max’s tactic. The rest went for a Soft/Hard/Hard race. In 2023, Max also used two sets of Softs but ran his opening stint on scrubbed Softs and took the win on a set of Hards fitted on lap 36. Again, Checo matched the strategy and took P2 ahead of a slew of Soft/Hard/Hard rivals. The strategy is likely to be in play again but whether the RB21 and the conditions allow it remains to be seen.
04Bahrain International Circuit Guide: Track Layout & Key Features
There’s a reason why the BIC has been a favoured test track for F1 in recent years as the 5.4km circuit provides a good all-round test of a car’s performance. There’s not a lot of high-speed content at the BIC and it’s largely made up of medium-speed corners. That could be good news for the RB21, which so far has been good in the slower corners. There are some punishing braking zones, particularly Turns 1 and 4 and the track rewards good braking stability and traction. One corner that regularly catches drivers out is Turn 10, a tight left-hander taken at just 70 Km/h and coming very quickly after another left hander taken at 135kph. It’s all too easy to overcook it into 9, go well wide in 10 and lose a chunk of time.
The track also has good overtaking opportunities. It has four decent straights and three DRS zones, and the best chances are provided in Turn 1 and Turn 4.
