This weekend the F1 circus heads of to Bahrain for the 2008 Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix. The Sakhir circuit plays host to the third round of the 2008 FIA Formula 1 World Championship.
Track guide
The Sakhir Circuit has hosted a Formula 1 Grand Prix since 2004, and rivals circuits such as Shanghai and Malaysia for facilities and architecture. The sand dunes surround this track, making it unique on the schedule.
Car requirements
There aren't many high speed corners at this circuit, it mainly consists of slow bends and long/short straights, turn 6 and turn 12 are the only real high speed corners on the circuit.
Therefore low speed, mechanical grip with excellent aerodynamic efficieny is crucial for compeitive lap times. In terms of braking at the Sakhir circuit, it's actually quite similar to the Gilles-Villeneuve Circuit in Canada - straights with heavy breaking zones. So teams bring modified braking solutions so brakes can withstand the intense punishment they get around this 5.412 km circuit.
Overtaking places:
The main overtaking spot here is the braking zone into turn 1, we have seen overtaking at this corner numerous times before so expect to see a lot of that on Sunday. The breaking zone into Turn 4 is also another possible overtaking place, tricky but it can be done. Like Nick Heidfeld went around the outside of Fernando Alonso last year. Turn 14 is the final overtaking opportunity on the circuit, a heavy breaking zone before hand and cactching somebody unaware on the first couple of laps is possible.
Here is on-board lap of this Sakhir Circuit, as described by Pedro De La Rosa:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXVQ4jUIyL0
Event timetable:
Thursday 3rd April
Formula One Press Conference - Press Room 15:00
Friday 4th April
Speedcar Practice / Qualifying Session 08:30 - 09:15
Formula One Friday Practice 1 10:00 - 11:30
GP2 Asia Practice Session 11:55 - 12:25
Lumina CSV Championship M.E Practice / Qualifying Session 12:45 - 13:15
Formula One Friday Practice 2 14:00 - 15:30
Formula One Press Conference - Press Room 16:00 - 17:00
GP2 Asia Qualifying Session 16:00 - 16:30
Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup Practice Session 17:00 - 17:45
Saturday 5th April
Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup Qualifying Session 08:45 - 09:05
Speedcar First Race (TBC Laps or 40 Minutes) 09:30 - 10:10
Formula One Saturday Practice 11:00 - 12:00
Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup First Race 12:25 - 13:10
Formula One Qualifying 14:00
GP2 Asia First Race (33 Laps or 75 Minutes) 15:50 - 17:10
Lumina CSV Championship M.E First Race (8 Laps) 17:30 - 17:55
Sunday 6th April
Lumina CSV Championship M.E Second Race (8 Laps or 30 Minutes) 08:30 - 09:00
Speedcar Second Race (TBC Laps or 40 Minutes) 09:30 - 10:10
GP2 Asia Second Race (22 Laps or 45 Minutes) 11:00 - 11:50
Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup Second Race (TBC Laps) 12:15 - 12:50
Formula One Drivers Track Parade 13:00
Air Display Parachute Landing (First Corner) 13:45
Formula One Race 14:30
Alex Wurz describes a lap of the Bahrain International Circuit
[b]"It's usually quite windy in the afternoons, which results in sand getting blown onto the track. The knock-on effect of this is felt most in qualifying, when everyone wants to be the last person on the track, when the circuit is at its cleanest. Therefore there's usually a lot of traffic to negotiate.
"The BIC is one of the slower tracks that Hermann Tilke has designed, but it's still quite interesting. From a technical point of view, braking and traction are crucial, and you break very hard into Turn 1, from seventh gear - more than 300kph - down to first gear. This provides the best overtaking opportunity on the lap.
"Turn 2 is a left kink, which, without traction control, is going to be quite challenging because you're going to have a lot of slip. We might see some snap oversteer here as a result. Turn 3 is easy flat and leads to the right-hander Turn 4, which is taken in third gear. It's off-camber and could pose quite a traction problem without TC.
"Then you come to a very interesting part of the track, the fast right-left chicane. It's enjoyable, but it can be frustrating from a car set-up point of view because if it wasn't for this section you'd soften up the car. As it is, you have to keep some roll stiffness in the car for this quick change of direction.
"You then come to the hairpin, which picks up a lot of grip throughout the weekend. The exit goes uphill, into a long left-hander, which tightens up into a sharp left. Everyone locks up a bit because it's off-camber and over a crest, so the inside front is unloaded. Traction is really important on the exit because the back straight follows, where you get up to sixth gear before slowing for the third-gear left-hander. I would set up my car's aero balance - the amount of wing I carry - for this corner.
"After this corner there's a long uphill stretch into a flat right-hander. The front left is loaded for a long time through here and then you come into another right-hander, which is an overtaking opportunity if the car in front is using its tyres too much. A very long straight leads to the last corner, where it's easy to out-brake yourself. You lose more than you can win through here because it's really important to have a clean exit onto the start-finish straight."
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