The Bahrain Grand Prix is back-to-back with the Chinese Grand Prix. We here at Madness HQ really enjoy these back-to-back races. It keeps us busy and eases with withdrawal. Round 04 of the Formula 1 World Championship takes us to the Bahrain International Circuit where for the second time it will play host to the seasons first day-into-night race.
The circuit is well known to the teams, the year round warm temperatures made it a favorite test venue for the teams. The track has 15 corners in total with 2 DRS zones.
Mercedes have once again stamped their authority on the season after a completely dominant weekend by Lewis Hamilton. He took P1 in all three practice sessions, pole position in qualifying, fastest lap and race win in the race. A royal flush so to speak.
Ferrari have now cemented their place as best of the rest with Sebastian Vettel finishing P3, behind the Mercedes pair. Ferrari tried their best to manage expectations for the Chinese Grand Prix after their win in Malaysia, but the fans were hungry for the victory. It became very clear during the race on Sunday that Mercedes were just too quick for the Maranello team. Nevertheless, they are continuing with developing the car and are getting closer to Mercedes. They have not ruled out a few more wins this season.
Further down the field it looks as Renault have made an improvement with their power units which brings Red Bull back up the order. This is some good news but the team face the inevitable penalty of a power unit change as they have already used 6 of their 8 allocated power units for the season and we are just 4 races in.
Sauber are quietly going about their business and are getting good points. They are currently 4th in the Constructors Championship ahead of Red Bull and Toro Rosso.
Although they say they are making progress, McLaren are lagging at the bottom of the constructors table with no points to their name. Both McLaren drivers are towing the line and are hiding their frustrations very well at the moment. The team is making improvements throughout every race weekend. Things should get better for them once the European leg of the season begins.
Below are the television broadcast times for this weekend’s Bahrain Grand Prix. All times are GMT+2
Free Practice 1: Friday 13:00
Free Practice 2: Friday 17:00
Free Practice 3: Saturday 14:00
Qualifying: Saturday 17:00
Race: Sunday 17:00
