Less than a minute. That is how long it will likely take a Formula One driver to complete one lap of Bahrain’s outside loop layout, which will be used for the Sakhir Grand Prix this weekend. Such a short, fast lap is a fascinating prospect that creates the conditions for an exciting race.
F1 will remain in Bahrain for a second straight weekend but will switch to a new 3.543km high-speed track rather than the 5.412km traditional track used to mess things up for drivers, teams and fans.
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There are 11 turns, but according to AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly, it is really so fast that there are only four turns. “[Horsepower] will obviously be the key to performance, ”said the Frenchman. “It’s a very short lap, really only four corners and most of the time we drive on the straight line.
“So I expect very tight gaps and if you are doing two or three tenths of the main straight on other circuits but have 10 corners where you can restore that, or if you have this in your pocket, it’s a bit easier than when You only have this in four corners.
“To be fair, I don’t know who will be the fastest on the straight. I think that really depends on the downforce and how much we’re going to be able to push the engines. But objectively it will be a really key factor in qualifying performance and the bottom line on Sunday. “
ON BOARD: Drive the safety car around the outer stretch of the Sakhir race track
Power and Low Downforce Key
Gasly assumes that there will be trains of cars. This is the high speed of the track, which means drawing or towing it could be a qualifying tactic.
With the PS key, Red Bull, who had both drivers on the podium in Bahrain last weekend, are careful with their chances. “It will only help the cars that have a lot of power,” said Max Verstappen. “I assume that it will be a little more difficult for us.” He also pointed out that the exterior layout isn’t used very often, so he expects it to be “quite sandy” initially.
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Renault looked strong in the final qualifying in Bahrain but retired from the race when their main competitors for P3 McLaren passed them. With the new layout, the downforce is lower, which should benefit the French manufacturer.
“We performed better at the lower output settings and this circuit should suit us,” said Esteban Ocon of Renault. “This is going to be interesting. We have to try a few things, a new direction for this weekend. And hopefully give them a great fight.”
Traffic will be a problem
With so few corners, Nicholas Latifi pointed out that it is good for beginners because it gives you more laps and more time to learn a new layout, and that its unusual nature presents an opportunity for Williams to still do looking for their first point of the year as they have the outside hope of beating Haas (with three points) to ninth place in the constructors’ championship.
The overwhelming feeling among all drivers is that traffic will be a problem. Ocon and Lando Norris say they expect things to get messy. So expect the radio transmissions to be bad when struggling to find enough clarity to set a quick lap time.
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The lap is so short that there are only two seconds between them when all the cars are evenly distributed on the track. And when the margins are small, the field becomes much narrower and mistakes are punished more heavily.
However, in general there is a lot of excitement in the paddock. And even though most have run, run, ridden a bike – or in some cases all three – they just want out on their racing machines.
READ MORE: Russell can “get pole and win” on Mercedes debut, says Norris, while Leclerc predicts “at least a podium”.
“I watched the safety cars drive over the track and tried to take a look,” said Ricciardo. “We did some simulator work but now that it’s live there are long straights so it looks like it’s easy to overtake but then the new section looks very ‘one line’, it’s pretty tight “one line” I mean there isn’t a lot of variety to overtake or to make a big difference.
“The group will stay in one area of the track so that section is more likely to prepare another car for the next attack. I think that it will just be kept clean and not much else there. I am still excited about that it is so. ” a new layout. “
The stage is ready, the track is ready and on Friday the drivers get their first foretaste …
