Ferrari’s Mattia Binotto previews the Bahrain GP: “Traction and braking key factors at Sakhir”. Mattia Binotto previews the Bahrain GP.

The second round of the 2019 Formula 1 World Championship takes place in Bahrain at the Sakhir circuit. The track is 5.412 kilometres long and the race is run over 57 laps. It is well known for its long straights and the heavy demand it places on the braking system, the two most difficult points being at turns 1 and 14.

Six wins. Scuderia Ferrari Mission Winnow has won six times in Bahrain. The first victory came in the inaugural edition of the race in 2004, courtesy of Michael Schumacher, before Felipe Massa won in 2007 and 2008. 2010 was the only year in which the race was run on the 6.299 kilometre “endurance” layout of the track and the winner was Fernando Alonso, making his debut with Ferrari, thus joining an exclusive club made up of Juan Manuel Fangio, Giancarlo Baghetti, Mario Andretti, Nigel Mansell and Kimi Raikkonen. Sebastian Vettel has won for Ferrari in both the past two years.

Two DRS Zones. The track has two sections where the moveable rear wing can come into play: one before turn 1 and the other in the section made up of turns 10 to 11. Qualifying are at 18 local time (16 CET) while the race start is at 18:10 local time (17.10 CET), making it a night race, run under floodlights every bit as bright as the sun. The track temperature therefore drops throughout the race as night falls. Pirelli is bringing its C1, C2 and C3 compounds, the hardest three in use this season.

Mattia Binotto Team Principal
“The Bahrain Grand Prix is the second round of what will be a very long and demanding season. The Sakhir circuit has very different characteristics to the Australian one, with traction and braking being key factors. In Bahrain, as a team, we will have to ensure that we have understood and rectified the areas where we were weak in Australia, which therefore meant we were unable to fully exploit our car’s potential. In Bahrain, we expect to see the effect of the corrections we have made, although we are well aware that our competitors will once again be very strong. With that in mind, we are keen to get back on track and face up to them.”