Track: Bahrain International Circuit
Track Length: 3.363 mi./5.412 km.
Laps: 57
Tire Compounds: Soft and Medium
Previous
Winners: 2014: Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
2013: Sebastian
Vettel (Red Bull)
2012: Sebastian
Vettel (Red Bull)
2010: Fernando
Alonso (Ferrari)
2009: Jenson
Button (Brawn)
Just like the Shanghai International Circuit the Bahrain
International Circuit was designed by Hermann Tilke and first hosted a Formula
1 race in 2004. The circuit was the first to host a Formula 1 race in the Middle
East and has been joined now by the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Last year the race
was moved to a night race which means that temperatures are not as high as they
would be if the race was still ran in the day. The track itself consists of
many slow and medium speed corners which means the teams will need to find a
setup that can tackle these types of corners well as well as be good under
traction when accelerating out of these corners. As for the weather, since the
track is in a desert climate it makes it highly unlikely that we will see any
rain all weekend.
Main Headlines
Can Rosberg Respond: Last
weekend at the Chinese Grand Prix Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg had a
disagreement about how they should handle the race. Rosberg said that Hamilton
was driving too slowly which almost cost him 2nd place to Vettel. Hamilton
claimed that he is trying to do what is best for his race. This weekend will be
big for Rosberg as Hamilton is starting to put a bit of a gap in between the
two drivers in the championship and Rosberg needs to turn that around quickly.
Rosberg will need a strong result this weekend and beating Hamilton in the race
will go a long way.
Honda: Honda is
supposedly going to put more power into its engines being used this weekend in
the McLaren chassis. The team has improved drastically each race this year and
more power should allow them to improve even more this weekend. Look for
McLaren to have a chance to breakthrough into Q2 during qualifying and to also
possibly score points in the race if the engine can last the distance.
Can Sauber Continue
its Success: Sauber has been the surprise of the season so far with how
competitive it has been. Last weekend at the Chinese Grand Prix the team had
both of its drivers get into Q3 in qualifying and score points in the race.
Sauber will be looking to build on that success this weekend by repeating those
results.
Can Ferrari Beat
Mercedes: Ferrari was able to defeat Mercedes at the Malaysian Grand Prix
and then looked to be close to the pace of the Mercedes drivers at last
weekend's Chinese Grand Prix. Ferrari will be looking for another win to show
that they can win a title and not just an occasional race. If Ferrari can win
this weekend it will mean that they have won half of the races before the
European season which puts them in a strong position. If the race is based on
tire wear then it is likely that Ferrari can put a challenge together.
Prediction: I
expect to see Lewis Hamilton take the checkered flag first this weekend and put
himself in control of the championship. Behind Hamilton I would expect Rosberg
to finish in 2nd and complete another Mercedes 1-2 finish. I think Ferrari will
be close to Mercedes again this weekend but like last week not have enough to
pull off a victory so expect to see Sebastian Vettel complete the podium in
3rd.
Podium Prediction
1. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
2. Nico Rosberg (Mercedes)
3. Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari)
How do you think the race will turn out this weekend? Do you
think Mercedes will take another win or do you think Ferrari or someone else
can challenge them up front? Please share your opinion in the comments section
below.
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