A hot weekend to come - Bahrain Grand Prix preview

After finishing the Japanese Grand Prix weekend with a rather uneventful race and a come-back from Red Bull Racing, the pinacle of motorsport now moves on to the Middle East. What is to expect with Lando Norris leading the championship with Max Verstappen high on his trails this weekend?

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The weather

Following three races of occasional rain, the Bahrain Grand Prix is set to be hot and dry all weekend. Even though the race is happening at 6 P.M. local time, with temperatures of about 30 degrees Celsius the track will be expected to quickly degrade tyres. “This weekend’s temperatures will present a new challenge”, Pirelli, Formula 1’s tyre provider, said when presenting their choice of tyres for the upcoming weekend. Especially the unusual weather conditions during the pre-season testing in Sakhir where the air had been way cooler and windy than it usually is the case in Saudi Arabia made it difficult for teams and drivers to prepare for the next two races.

Tyre compounds

Pirelli has chosen to provide their hardest tyre compounds for the Bahrain race weekend (C1-C3). With 57 laps and 15 turns, the Bahrain International Circuit is one of the tracks on the race-calendar that damages tryes the most. There’s already a lot of degradation expected due to the heavy braking that is necessary in many corners; with the hot weather in addition, drivers have to be careful to prevent too early tyre-graining.

Last year’s Bahrain Grand Prix had been one of the only races where every driver had at least two pit stops; Soft and Hard being the preferred compound choices. This season, Pirelli suggests that a one-stop strategy and the usage of the C2 medium compound might be possible due to changes made for the 2025 season.

Last season’s stories

Three Free Practice sessions topped by three different drivers and yet another driver starting from pole-position – the opener of the 2024 Formula 1 season offered no opportunities to guess what might happen during the race.

Max Verstappen had started the championship the same way he ended it in 2023 – on the top step of the podium after a grand slam. Followed by his then-teammate Sergio Perez and Carlos Sainz Jr. in a Ferrarirespectively, Verstappen had been dominating the race for every single lap.

Last year’s constructor’s champion McLaren ended the 2024 Bahrain Grand Prix in positions six and eight with Mercedes filling positions five and seven.

There had been no retirements during the race, with 66 overtakes completed in total.

Podium of the 2024 Bahrain Grand Prix - source: motorsport.com

What to expect?

With Ferrari coming off strong last year and Lewis Hamilton holding the highest amount of wins on this circuit (five), there might be a chance of the Italian team to climb their way up the championship standings during this weekend (Ferrari is currently fourth in the constructor’s championship).

As the leading constructor, McLaren is keen on keeping that position up during the upcoming weekend. In Thursday’s press conference, Piastri voiced concerns that the Bahrain track might not have been a particular “great” track for them previously; but he also mentioned that McLaren “ha[s] some evidence from testing that [they] are in a good place”, but it is yet to be seen in Friday’s practice session if that is still the case with Bahrain’s hot temperatures.

McLaren's driver line-up in 2025: Oscar Piastri (left) and Lando Norris (right)

McLaren’s direct competitor with a gap of 36 points sees Mercedes, who have shown strong performances on this track in past seasons. Their rookie-driver Kimi Antonelli is positive about the approaching race: “The speed is there. Keep positive trend, keep working hard and then we’ll see what the results are”.

DRS zones are located at the main straight (Start/Finish) and between turn three and four – most overtakes will probably take place in those areas. Calculated from the last eight races in Bahrain, there is a probability of 63% that a Safety Car is deployed at least once; as for a Virtual Safety Car, the percentage says 50%. (formula1.com)

All in one

Viewers can prepare themselves for a hot and possibly eventful race with multiple teams going onto the track with chances of scoring a win under the hot middle-eastern evening sky. Is it yet to see who will come out on top of the fourth race of the 2025 season – and if it will be a well-known name or a new one added to the list of winners of the 75th Formula 1 world-championship.