Official F1 Journal Track Guide- Sakhir Circuit Bahrain 2024

FINALLY THE 1ST RACE OF 2024 IS HERE!!
After a solid 3 days of what was clearly sandbagging from all the teams in testing, there are still a lot of question marks over every ones pace. How far ahead are Redbull? Who is closest to Redbull? How does the top 4 shake out? All questions that won't be answered before late Practice 3 or even Q3 on Friday. But for everything else you need to know for the season opener the Official F1 Journal Track Guide is your one stop shop for all the stats and facts you need. 

Race Stats

Laps- 71
Circuit Length- 4.309 km
Race Distance- Sprint- 103.416 km
                          Race- 305.879 km
Corners- 15      6 Left      9 Right
DRS Zones- 3
       Activation 1- Entry Turn 1
         Deployment 1- Exit Turn 3
       Activation 2- Entry Turn 9
         Deployment 2- Exit Turn 10
        Activation 3- Entry Turn 14
          Deployment 3- Start/Finish Straight 
Downforce Level- Medium 
Tyre Degradation- Medium
Time @ Full Throttle- 71%
Time Lost in Pitlane- 18.9 seconds
Gear Changers- 56 per lap/3192 per race
Pole Side- Left
Tyre Compounds- 
       Hard           Medium        Soft 
        C1                C2              C3
Minimum Starting Tyre Pressures- 
           Front          Rear 
          22.0psi      19.0psi 
Maximum Starting Tyre Camber-
          Front          Rear
         -3.50º        -2.00º
​ 

Weekend Schedule 

Track Stats

Times Held- 21
First Time Held- 2004
Laps Raced-1161
Finishing Percentage- 83%
Pole Record- 1.27.264 HAM 2020
Lap Record- 1.30.252 SCH 2004
Winners-10
Pole Sitters-  11
Podium Finishers-20 
Most Driver Poles- HAM/VET 3
Most Team Poles- Mercedes 7
Most Driver Wins-  HAM 5
Most Team Wins- 7 Ferrari
Most Driver Podiums- HAM 11
Most Team Podiums-  Mercedes 16
Most Fastest Laps(Driver)- ROS 3
Most Fastest Laps(Team)- Mercedes 
Most Consecutive Wins(Driver)-  HAM 3
Most Consecutive Wins (Team)- Mercedes 3
Times Won From Pole- 9
Times Won from Front Row- 13
Lowest Starting Position to Win- 5th Perez 2020
Smallest Win Margin- VET 0.669s
Largest Win Margin- ALO 16.099s
Most Cars to Finish- 21 2013
Least Cars to Finish- 12 2005
Safety Cars- 8 
Red Flags- 1 2020

Random Facts 

• There is an 83% finishing rate at Bahrain.
•  ​Raikonnen has raced 925 of the 1161 raced at Sakhir, the most of any driver. 
• No driver has ever lead every lap of a race at the Sakhir circuit 
• Vettel has lead the most lap in Bahrain with 237 laps lead.
• The winner of the Bahrain Grand Prix has gone on to win the championship that year 12 times.
• Alonso, Hamilton and Vettel are the only drivers to take back to back wins at the Sakhir Circuit.
• Ferrari have the most 1-2 finishes here with 4, Mercedes currently have 2 and Redbull got their first in 2023
• 5 Drivers on the current grid have won this Grand Prix. HAM, ALO, VER, PER & LEC
• The longest streak of different winners here was from 2008-2012.
• The Bahrain Grand Prix has only been won by under a second twice, 2018 & 2021
• 10 Drivers on the current grid have finished on the podium here- HAM, VER, PER, BOT, ALO, LEC, OCO, ALB, STR & SAI

Previous Results

2021

Qualifying-
               1 VER 1'28.997
                 2 HAM 1'29.385
                   3 BOT 1'29.586
Race- 
           1 HAM (2 stop)
             2 VER (2 stop)
              3 BOT (3 stop)
Fastest Lap- 1'32.090 BOT lap 56

2022

Qualifying-
               1 LEC 1'30.558
                 2 VER 1'30.681
                  3 SAI 1'30.687
Race- 
          1 LEC (3 stop)
            2 SAI (3 stop)
              3 HAM (3 stop)
Fastest Lap- 1'34.570 LEC Lap 51

2023

Qualifying-
                1 VER 1'29.708
                  2 PER 1'29.846
                   3 LEC 1'30.000
Race-
           1 VER (2stop)
             2 PER (2 stop)
              3 ALO (2 stop)
Fastest Lap- 1'33.996 ZHO Lap 65 

Enjoy the weekend guy and remember the race is on Saturday!!


Joanna Blackmore 
​Writer @f1journal.co.uk