It's a swift change of direction for the Formula 1 paddock with back to back races in China and Bahrain.
The Bahrain International Circuit near Sakhir hosts the fourth round of the Formula 1 world championship, and it certainly has a big act to follow. The Malaysian Grand Prix was controversial in itself but the third round of the season in China was truly thrilling.
After the dominance of Fernando Alonso in China confidence is high in the Ferrari team. Mercedes and Lotus will also be looking forward to the next round in Bahrain, as will Red Bull who usually go well on the 3.36 mile circuit.
2012 saw Sebastian Vettel fight for the win with "Iceman" Kimi Raikkonen. The two were closely matched out on track but the Finn only had one chance to overtake and he failed to capitalise on the opportunity. Romain Grosjean put on a composed and mature run to third to make his debut on the podium.
Elsewhere in last year's race it was a truly torrid weekend for Lewis Hamilton. On paper strong free practice results and a front row start look promising but his race was hampered by relatively average pace and even more so by the continuous pit stop problems which robbed him of reaching positions in front of his eventual eighth place.
Nico Rosberg also demonstrated some much needed aggression, something some people say he lacks, last year after defending heavily from both Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso. The latter two proved that despite its sandy colour, the run off around the Bahrain International Circuit is in fact colours concrete; lucky for them after the off track excursions.
The races have never really been thrillers but there's often drama and plenty of overtaking. A few that stand out are the inaugural round in 2004 as drivers still got used to the new circuit, or 2006 where Schumacher and Alonso battled it out for the lead.
Bahrain is notorious for its heavy brake and tyre wear thanks to its big braking zones and tight traction corners. The pit straight is vital for DRS use and the following turn one is the best overtaking opportunity on the track. It is also possible to make a move around the outside thanks to the sweeping left-right complex of turns two and three that follows the tight right hand hairpin of the first corner.
The Hermann Tilke designed circuit has the common corner breaks with another long straight leading to turn four, another low speed right. Turn five, six and seven vaguely resembles the Becketts and Maggots complex at Silverstone before the cars brake heavily yet again for the turn eight hairpin.
Traction is key out of these slow corners, more follow with turn ten, but a car with good straight line speed is also advantageous; particularly in the race. Turn 11 is a sweeping left which leads on to the medium speed turns 12 and 13 which provide a good slight shot for the next straight. The lap ends with turn 14 and 15, although it looks like one corner to me, before the cars are unleashed on to the long pit straight to start another lap.
So who is looking strong going in to the race? As I said earlier, Lotus and Red Bull were the pick of the pack last year after they locked out the podium places. With stable rule changes you have to expect them to be in with a shot, both Red Bull and Lotus cars.
Ferrari will no doubt also be in with a shot of victory after the performance of their car in China. Mercedes look strong too so it is just too tough to say, perhaps after Friday practice we will get a better idea of where everyone is as the track is completely different to the fellow Tilke designed Shanghai International Circuit.
With a short break between races we cannot expect huge upgrades to arrive in Bahrain for the race, however teams will certainly be pushing to improve and with that comes experimentation. Tyres will obviously be the main talking point and Pirelli bring the two hardest compounds in their range thanks to the need for traction and the heavy braking zones.
Bahrain Grand Prix Factfile
Location: Sakhir, Bahrain
Track Length: 3.363 miles
Direction: Clockwise
Turns: 15
Laps: 57
Gear changes per lap: 58
Full throttle: 67%
First race: 2004
Lap record: 1m30.252 Michael Schumacher Ferrari 2004
Tyre compounds: Medium and hard
2012 race winner: Sebastian Vettel
2012 pole position: Sebastian Vettel
2012 fastest lap: 1m36.379 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull Racing
Live on: Sky Sports F1 (BBCF1 Highlights)
 |
| (c) Sky Sports F1 |
After the dominance of Fernando Alonso in China confidence is high in the Ferrari team. Mercedes and Lotus will also be looking forward to the next round in Bahrain, as will Red Bull who usually go well on the 3.36 mile circuit.
 |
| (c) Sky Sports F1 |
Elsewhere in last year's race it was a truly torrid weekend for Lewis Hamilton. On paper strong free practice results and a front row start look promising but his race was hampered by relatively average pace and even more so by the continuous pit stop problems which robbed him of reaching positions in front of his eventual eighth place.
Nico Rosberg also demonstrated some much needed aggression, something some people say he lacks, last year after defending heavily from both Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso. The latter two proved that despite its sandy colour, the run off around the Bahrain International Circuit is in fact colours concrete; lucky for them after the off track excursions.
The races have never really been thrillers but there's often drama and plenty of overtaking. A few that stand out are the inaugural round in 2004 as drivers still got used to the new circuit, or 2006 where Schumacher and Alonso battled it out for the lead.
Bahrain is notorious for its heavy brake and tyre wear thanks to its big braking zones and tight traction corners. The pit straight is vital for DRS use and the following turn one is the best overtaking opportunity on the track. It is also possible to make a move around the outside thanks to the sweeping left-right complex of turns two and three that follows the tight right hand hairpin of the first corner.
The Hermann Tilke designed circuit has the common corner breaks with another long straight leading to turn four, another low speed right. Turn five, six and seven vaguely resembles the Becketts and Maggots complex at Silverstone before the cars brake heavily yet again for the turn eight hairpin.
 |
| (c) Sky Sports F1 |
Traction is key out of these slow corners, more follow with turn ten, but a car with good straight line speed is also advantageous; particularly in the race. Turn 11 is a sweeping left which leads on to the medium speed turns 12 and 13 which provide a good slight shot for the next straight. The lap ends with turn 14 and 15, although it looks like one corner to me, before the cars are unleashed on to the long pit straight to start another lap.
So who is looking strong going in to the race? As I said earlier, Lotus and Red Bull were the pick of the pack last year after they locked out the podium places. With stable rule changes you have to expect them to be in with a shot, both Red Bull and Lotus cars.
Ferrari will no doubt also be in with a shot of victory after the performance of their car in China. Mercedes look strong too so it is just too tough to say, perhaps after Friday practice we will get a better idea of where everyone is as the track is completely different to the fellow Tilke designed Shanghai International Circuit.
With a short break between races we cannot expect huge upgrades to arrive in Bahrain for the race, however teams will certainly be pushing to improve and with that comes experimentation. Tyres will obviously be the main talking point and Pirelli bring the two hardest compounds in their range thanks to the need for traction and the heavy braking zones.
Bahrain Grand Prix Factfile
Track Length: 3.363 miles
Direction: Clockwise
Turns: 15
Laps: 57
Gear changes per lap: 58
Full throttle: 67%
First race: 2004
Lap record: 1m30.252 Michael Schumacher Ferrari 2004
Tyre compounds: Medium and hard
2012 race winner: Sebastian Vettel
2012 pole position: Sebastian Vettel
2012 fastest lap: 1m36.379 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull Racing
Live on: Sky Sports F1 (BBCF1 Highlights)
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