Whereas in China last weekend the track temperature was 25C, here in Bahrain
it was 40C for practice on Friday. They are using the same two compounds of
rubber so it stands to reason the cars will have to be set up very
differently to get into the right operating window.
Bahrain is not a terribly easy circuit at which to pass cars — it has produced
some pretty dull races in the past — so drivers may have to be a bit more
aggressive with their strategy going into qualifying.
That said, it may help that the track has been changed back to its old,
shortened layout which really allows the drivers to attack corners six and
seven; a high-speed chicane and a corner where over the years we have seen
the likes of Lewis Hamilton and Heikki Kovalainen have big crashes, which is
not too difficult if you get too much too much kerb on the exit.
Sub-plots?
Clearly there has been a lot of talk about Bahrain this week, so I hardly need
to go into that beyond saying that I hope it all passes off smoothly and we
can get back to focusing on the racing. We made a decision to trust in the
FIA and that is what we have done.
Of course it is alarming when reports come through of incidents such as Force
India encountered on Wednesday night but the authorities have decided it is
safe to continue and we must trust their judgement. Bahrain is significant
for another reason as it represents the last of the so-called flyaways.
The three-week break until Barcelona will allow teams to go back to their
factories and really bolt on some upgrades.
Ferrari,
in particular, will be looking forward to the break. McLaren, Red Bull and
Mercedes, whose performance is already strong, will be fine-tuning what they
have. Ferrari, on the other hand, are likely tol have implemented radical
change based on what they have seen from their opposition. If their star
driver Fernando Alonso can get some decent points here, he will hope to be
nearer the front come Spain.
Timings
Qualifying: 2pm local time (12pm BST)
Tomorrow: Race 3pm local time (1pm BST)
TV details
Qualifying: Live on Sky Sports F1 HD and highlights on BBC1 at 5.20pm
Race: Live on Sky Sports F1 HD and highlights on BBC1 at 5pm
Weather
Sunny, 27C