Bahrain GP preview

Bahrain GP preview
By Simon Baggus

Hamilton won last week in Malaysia

The Bahrain Grand Prix is another spectacle built by Hermann Tilke and was the first GP to take place in the middle east.  Its home is the Bahrain International Circuit at Sakhir.

The venue boasts a capacity of 50, 000 spectators,  has 6 different race tracks, two if which can be used to host Formula one events with the striking eight story Sakhir tower, which incorporates a resaurant, several hospitality suites and offices for the International circuit management, providing views of the entire ciruit.

The first race held here was In 2004, under the ever so dominant Ferrari era, ending in a one - two finish with Schumacher heading Barrichello.

The track contains 12 corners and a massive, long straight, aiding the help of overtaking.  Some people do say this track does not live up to some of the other tracks that Tilke has built, such as Sepang in Malaysia, where Hamilton has just taken a dominant win.

This track has had its fair use of unrest over the years also, having to be cancelled in 2011 due to political circumstances. When the race returned in both 2012 and 2013, extra security had been needed as the capitol of Bahrain was still unsettled, with protesters threatening to boycott the event. A number of teams even got caught up in the cross fire and attacks, driving back to their hotels from the GP circuit.

It returns in 2014 with a new twist up its sleeve. A night race nonetheless.  The track now fitted with state of the art flood lighting to handle such needs. This is not the only night race on the calander so the drivers can take some comfort from the fact they have been there and done it, although it will be a new venture into the unkown, with different track temperatures, humidity and obviously at night.

With no break in between races you can expect to see the same offering as what was in Malaysia. Most teams will be running pretty much the same spec cars as last weekend, which means only one thing really, a Mercedes on pole?, a Mercedes for the win? most likely outcome.

Now we had 1 less retire in Malaysia compared to Australia but it does not tell the whole story about reliability, although it was still evident. I believe reliability had improved and i think going to Bahrain at night, will only help the cars power units, with heat, cooling and performance.

So what can we expect to see then this weekend.

Mercedes will lead the fighting pack in qualifying and the race. Hamilton especially seems to have atleast 0.500 of a second on the field per lap and even his own team mate Rosberg. How far along the road can they actually finish.

Red Bull are Mercedes' closest challengers and they are even 30 seconds behind come race end

Red bulls seem to be next, now the order has settled a little, with the reigning champions getting their act together. There problem is on race day where they lack race pace, as does everyone, but in qualifying they can be a thorn in the side of the Mercedes, over one qualifying lap. I think Mercedes will lock out the front row with Hamiltom leading the team battle, with Red Bull occupying the second row, Vettel leading that team battle.

Ricciardo also has a 10 place grid penalty due to his Unsafe pit release, which seems harsh as he served a penalty in Malaysia also. So even if he gets pole he will be P10 at the minimum, which will surely make his night that much harder. Renault lack straight line speed and if he is behind all those Mercedes powered cars it will be tough for him

All is still unkown for the rest of the field as the pack oder is still changing race by race, but it will most likely be McLaren, Ferrari and Williams fighting it out for the next places with Hulkenberg having a stab with his Force india to mix things up a bit. I think Alonso, Kimi, Button and Magnussen will fight out for rows 3 and 4, what order they line up I do not know.

What we do know is that Williams lack qualifying pace but have great race pace, this is there down fall as they put themselves on the back foot straight away, but don't rule either Bottas or Massa sneaking a podium, if team orders play a part again, it will be interesting to see it play out and I'm sure if Bottas is on the receiving end of an order he will ignore just as Massa had done.

Torro Rossi can also sneak into the top ten in qualifying and hold on to get a bunch of points if they have a fault free weekend. Kvyat has shown consistently that he can produce the results in the first two Grand prix of the year, so he would be a good bet to sneak a few points.

Perez has had a tough start to his campaign so will be hoping for a better showing this weekend as he has been thoroughly beaten by Hulkenberg since the season began. With no points on the board and retirements to his name he needs a good weekend.

Lotus had a better showing last weekend with Grosjean and have said they believe they can be fighting with McLaren for points this weekend. I think this is a bit ambitious as Grosjean only finished ahead of the Caterhams and Marussia in Malaysia. They still have reliability problems as Maldonado suffered his second retirement and they still have the least amount of track time. Still no points after Bahrain seems on the cards.

Sauber still lack pace in an overweight car, which they have said they are going to put through a weight loss programme. They both retired also last time out so it isn't looking hopeful they will score Any points again.

Both Caterham and Marussia will have there own private battle at the back of the field once again, but it does seem the Caterham is a faster package overall then Marussia. Max Chilton will be hoping to continue his 100% record into this race and make it 22 races without retirement.

Your last years podium, Renault powered teams are having no such luck this year

My prediction is Hamilton for the win, followed by his team mate Nico Rosberg. I am going to have a punt and say Bottas will be third on the podium this weekend, with a red bull and Alonso completing the top 5.

All will be revealed come race day, or night as it will be, in Bahrain.

I will bring a blog of the whole weekend this time around, instead of two separate blogs for qualifying and the race, so watch out for that one, early next week.

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Thank you
Simon Baggus