Formula One’s Evening Race In The Desert
Since the first running of the Bahrain Grand Prix in 2004, the track at Sakhir in the gulf kingdom of Bahrain has had more than its fair share of great racing and big moments on the main stage of Formula One. As we approach this year’s race on April 13, we look back at the biggest moments in its two-decade history, and some of the features that make the track so great for racing.
2004: A New Era For Formula One
The Bahrain Grand Prix was the ambition of the Crown Prince of Bahrain to be the first Middle Eastern country to host Formula One racing. While other countries in the region were interested, Bahrain won out. Though the track wasn’t 100% complete at the time of its first Grand Prix, Formula One honcho Bernie Ecclestone overruled race organizers and the race went ahead.
Derek Morrison, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
2004: Inaugural Win By Schumacher
The first-ever Bahrain Grand Prix coincided with the last year of Michael Schumacher’s dominance with Ferrari. Schumacher took the win in what would turn out to be his only victory on this track. Years later, after Schumacher’s tragic skiing accident, the track named its challenging first corner after him.
Alexander Hassenstein, Getty Images
2006: Alonso Tops Schumacher
Coming back strong after an off year for Ferrari, Schumacher secured the pole position. But Renault’s Fernando Alonso emerged after the last pit stop to surprise Schumacher for the hard-fought win on the way to Alonso’s second straight driver’s championship.
20 Years of Racing in Bahrain | Evolution of Bahrain International Circuit (2004-2024), Formula 1
2006: Raikkonen Rallies From Way Back
McLaren’s Kimi Raikkonen suffered a suspension failure during qualifying, sending him to the back of the pack for the start. By the second lap, he’d moved up to 13th, and by the end, he was in third just behind Alonso and Schumacher for an unlikely but hard-earned podium finish.
Phillip Asbury, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
2008: Hamilton And Alonso Collide
After battling each other as teammates at McLaren through 2007, Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton had further conflict in the second race of the 2008 season in Bahrain. Hamilton damaged his front wings when he collided with the back of Alonso’s Renault, taking Hamilton out of contention for a win.
Ryan Bayona, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
2008: Great Moment For Massa
Felipe Massa led the race from start to finish, beating out Ferrari teammate Kimi Raikkonen. The win was a great comeback for Massa after starting the 2008 season poorly, and was a triumph for Ferrari in a 1–2 sweep.
2009: Toyota Takes The Front Of The Grid
Toyota’s Jarno Trulli and Timo Glock took 1-2 in qualifying, a spectacular result for the manufacturer, but poor tire strategy in the race did them in, as Trulli took third and Glock seventh. Toyota would abandon Formula One at the end of the 2009 season.
Mark McArdle, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
2009: Button Out-Thinks The Pack
Jenson Button and the Brawn GP team used smart tire strategy and perfectly-timed pit stops to steal the win from Toyota and the other contenders. Not yet a night race, the heat of the afternoon in Bahrain in late April tested every drivers’ ability to contend with adversity.
Mark McArdle, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
2009: Desert Heat Is A Factor
After his victory in the 2009 race, Jenson Button related that he’d burned his backside on an electrical box in the driver’s seat of his car. Fernando Alonso collapsed after the race from dehydration due to an overheating problem behind his driver’s seat. He ended the race with a first-degree burn on his back, having lost six kilograms.
Azlijohari, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
2010: A Track Reconfiguration
Organizers added several additional turns to the track for the 2010 race, lengthening the lap by almost a full kilometer. The change made that year’s edition of the race an endurance course. The new configuration provided plenty of great moments in what would be the last Bahrain Grand Prix for two years.
Derek Morrison, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
2010: Alonso Makes His First Start With Ferrari
It was a great day for Ferrari as Fernando Alonso captured the 2010 Bahrain Grand Prix, now Formula One’s season-opening race. Alonso beat out teammate Felipe Massa for the win after Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel had engine problems.
Andrew Griffith, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
2011: Cancellation
The outbreak of protests across the Middle East in 2011 also affected Bahrain. Originally scheduled for March 13, 2011, the political turmoil forced rescheduling until October 30. After strong remarks from driver Damon Hill and others, Formula One organizers cancelled the race.
Andrew Griffith, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
2012: A Controversial Return
Formula One returned to Bahrain in 2012 amid ongoing protests against the government and Formula One. While many drivers and teams had serious reservations about continuing, the race went ahead. It turned out to be a gem!
Ryan Bayona, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
2012: Red Bull Rolls To The Win
While controversy swirled outside the track, Sebastian Vettel put on a show of pure domination in the 2012 race. He led from the start and soon left no doubt of the final result. It was a remarkable moment for the Red Bull team.
Ryan Bayona, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
2013: Alonso’s Stuck Wing
The changing fortunes of Ferrari took the spotlight again as Fernando Alonso’ drag reduction system (DRS) in the rear wing was stuck open. After a pit stop, it seemed like things were back to normal, but the wing stuck open again soon after. The problem dropped Alonso from second to eighth.
Ryan Bayona, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
2013: McLaren Rivals Bang Wheels
While teammate rivalries are normal in Formula One, Sergio Perez and Jenson Button ramped things up during the 2013 Bahrain Grand Prix. Button got ahead of Perez, after which Perez gave Button’s back tire a nudge with his front wing. “Wheel-banging at 300 kilometers an hour is not how I go racing”, fumed Button afterward.
Kevin Rodriguez Ortiz, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
2014: Under The Lights
The 10th anniversary of the Bahrain Grand Prix saw a change to the race format. Instead of racing during the heat of the day, the race was held at night. Bahrain joined Singapore as the second race in Formula One to become a nighttime event. It has been held in the evening ever since.
Habeed Hameed, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
2014: Spectacular Accident Changes The Race
A collision between Pastor Maldonado’s car leaving the pits and Esteban Gutierrez’s car at full speed sent Gutierrez flying off the track. The ensuing caution period paved the way for one of the best race finishes in Bahrain Grand Prix history.
Habeed Hameed, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
2014: Mercedes Rivals Duel
Mercedes teammates Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg battled each other for three years, and some of their best confrontations were at Sakhir. In 2014, the caution period after the Gutierrez-Maldonado crash (above) allowed Rosberg to close the gap on Hamilton, but Hamilton held off Rosberg’s late charge for the win.
20 Years of Racing in Bahrain | Evolution of Bahrain International Circuit (2004-2024), Formula 1
2015: Hamilton Again
Lewis Hamilton beat out Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen by a solid three seconds, after Hamilton and Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg experienced brake problems. It was Hamilton’s second Bahrain victory in a row.
20 Years of Racing in Bahrain | Evolution of Bahrain International Circuit (2004-2024), Formula 1
2017: Big Moment For Bottas
Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas took the first pole of his career at the 2017 race, and finished third in the race. The Finn has gone on to a productive career in Formula One with nine more wins since then.
Dorian Schuster (XaviYuahanda), CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
2018: Vettel’s Mastery
Ferrari’s Sebastien Vettel put on a show when he left the pits with soft tires. Dogged by Valtteri Bottas and his longer-lasting tires for 36 laps, Vettel somehow maintained his lead till the end, winning by just two-thirds of a second, an exhibition of driving mastery.
20 Years of Racing in Bahrain | Evolution of Bahrain International Circuit (2004-2024), Formula 1
2019: Leclerc Has A Setback
Charles Leclerc was in the lead and seemingly headed for the first Formula One win of his career in 2019 when he started having engine trouble. Leclerc managed to pull off a third-place finish after leading most of the race, a reminder of the unpredictability of Formula One.
Liauzh, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
2020: Grosjean’s Terrible Crash
Haas driver Romain Grosjean luckily emerged with only minor injuries after his car disintegrated and burst into flames on the first lap of the 2020 race. It was a miracle that Grosjean survived. The sobering moment was a reminder of how much progress has been made by Formula One in making its cars safer.
City of Detroit, Wikimedia Commons
2021: Hamilton Vs Verstappen
The opener of the 2021 season saw the emerging rivalry between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen come into focus right away. While Verstappen took qualifying, Hamilton took the race after Verstappen was forced to relinquish a lead he took by exceeding track limits. Debate ensued afterward when video showed that Hamilton had exceeded the same track limits earlier in the race. What would Formula One be without controversy?
Wastrick, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
2022: Leclerc Does It
The second-longest winless string in Ferrari history came to an end as teammates Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz Jr finished 1–2 to open the 2022 season. Lewis Hamilton finished third while Red Bull tandem Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez retired late due to fuel problems.
20 Years of Racing in Bahrain | Evolution of Bahrain International Circuit (2004-2024), Formula 1
2023: Verstappen Takes The Opener
Red Bull finished 1–2 to open the season, with Max Verstappen taking the checkered flag by 12 seconds over teammate Sergio Perez. The resurgent Fernando Alonso’s third-place finish represented only his second podium since 2014, but his first of eight in 2023.
Michael Potts F1, Shutterstock
2024: Verstappen Dominates Again
Max Verstappen opened the season at Bahrain by taking the pole, setting the fastest lap, winning and leading every lap of the race. It was the fifth time he’d accomplished the feat in his career and was an early indicator of how the Formula One season would unfold.
Nicolas Tucat, CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
Track Notes: A Course With A Bit Of Everything
The Bahrain Grand Prix is hosted at the Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir, Bahrain. Since the race’s inception, the track has been praised as a very safe track that puts drivers and cars through all the different challenges of racing. With many different kinds of corners, straightaways and opportunities for passing, Bahrain offers a bit of everything.
20 Years of Racing in Bahrain | Evolution of Bahrain International Circuit (2004-2024), Formula 1
Track Notes: Grip
The Sakhir track is paved with a sandstone aggregate, the same material as the track at Abu Dhabi. The track surface is especially praised by Formula One teams and drivers alike for the great grip it gives to tires. The track has large run-off areas that make it one of the safest tracks in Formula One.
20 Years of Racing in Bahrain | Evolution of Bahrain International Circuit (2004-2024), Formula 1
Track Notes: Tire Wear
While Bahrain’s surface provides good grip, it is also one of the more abrasive track surfaces in Formula One, with rapid tire wear an issue. Finding the balance between rapid and smooth acceleration to save on tire wear is an area where Bahrain tests drivers’ skills more than other tracks do.
20 Years of Racing in Bahrain | Evolution of Bahrain International Circuit (2004-2024), Formula 1
Track Notes: Braking Zones
The cornering pattern at Sakhir means that teams must set up the cars for maximum stability for hard braking. Brake and suspension settings will be adjusted to keep the speeds up through the track’s many corners. Turns 1, 4, and 14 force drivers to slow from 300 to 60 km/h within seconds, requiring maximum skill to avoid losing pace or spinning.
20 Years of Racing in Bahrain | Evolution of Bahrain International Circuit (2004-2024), Formula 1
Track Notes: Sand
The Bahrain International Circuit is located in the desert, where blowing sand is always a concern. To prevent disruption of racing events, workers spray a special adhesive on the sand at trackside to prevent it from becoming airborne.
20 Years of Racing in Bahrain | Evolution of Bahrain International Circuit (2004-2024), Formula 1
Track Notes: Temperature
The race is held in the early evening. Even in early April, the desert heat blazes during the day, but as the temperature drops, it may affect teams’ decision-making about the kinds of tires they want to use. Wind speed and direction can also be a factor.
20 Years of Racing in Bahrain | Evolution of Bahrain International Circuit (2004-2024), Formula 1
Track Notes: A Non-Traditional Podium Celebration
While alcohol consumption is legal in Bahrain, the podium celebration doesn’t follow the traditional spraying of champagne by the victors. Instead, the teams use a non-alcoholic rosewater drink out of respect for local customs.
20 Years of Racing in Bahrain | Evolution of Bahrain International Circuit (2004-2024), Formula 1
2025: When Does It Start?
The 2025 Bahrain Grand Prix will be held at Sakhir on Sunday, April 13 starting at 6 pm local time (11 am EST). Practice will be held on Friday and Saturday afternoon, with qualifying on Saturday evening.
20 Years of Racing in Bahrain | Evolution of Bahrain International Circuit (2004-2024), Formula 1
2025: A Season Takes Shape
While McLaren were off to a roaring start heading into the April 6 Japanese Grand Prix, Ferrari was reeling from the double disqualification in the March 23 Chinese Grand Prix. Meanwhile, Mercedes and Red Bull may be poised to jump right back into the running with a great performance. While the Bahrain Grand Prix is only a stepping stone in the Formula One season, it’s also built up an impressive history in its two decades.
20 Years of Racing in Bahrain | Evolution of Bahrain International Circuit (2004-2024), Formula 1
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