After the cooling rains of Malaysia and China, the drivers and teams are looking forward to testing their mettle in the heat and dust of Sakhir this weekend, at the Bahrain Grand Prix?
Hirohide Hamashima, Bridgestone director of motorsport tyre development
"Bahrain is a technically interesting circuit. The layout means a lot of braking and a lot of accelerating out of low speed corners. Maximising traction out of the corners is the key to a good lap time, but if a car has less than ideal traction, additional unwanted heat can be created, and this will make matters more difficult for competitors. There is a lot of heavy braking here too, and it will be interesting to see how the different braking characteristics between the KERS and non-KERS cars affects lap times, and also the racing. Tyre management and minimising unnecessary tyre heat in what could be very hot conditions are very important considerations here. We have the medium and super soft tyres and we expect the medium tyre to be very durable. The super soft should present more of a challenge in terms of durability than the medium, however the data from the Bahrain pre-season tests show that this tyre can be managed well on this track if the correct set-up is found."
Lewis Hamilton, McLaren
2008 Qualifying - 3rd, 2008 Race - 13th
?I?m looking forward to Bahrain. It?s a circuit I enjoy and I think it should be good for us - the nature of the circuit, the long straights and the heavy braking zones mean it is a theoretically strong place for KERS. In fact, it?s got the highest brake-wear of the season so far, so it will be interesting to see how well KERS can be exploited around the lap. Most importantly, we seem to have a solid direction within the team - all our upgrades invariably bring a lap time improvement and our direction on set-up and strategy shows what a strong group we still are. I still think we are several races away from being truly competitive but a straightforward race at Bahrain would give us a very good opportunity to accurately assess where we sit among our rivals.?
Heikki Kovalainen, McLaren
2008 Qualifying - 5th, 2008 Race - 5th
?There?s a real mix of corners at the Bahrain circuit and the long straights followed by tighter corners mean it?s a good place for overtaking. It?s quite tricky to find the right set-up, it?s a medium downforce circuit so that always brings a compromise. And the changing wind conditions, the winds here can be quite strong, also make it harder to get the car working over the whole weekend. Still, it?s a circuit you have to attack to get a good time - I really enjoy the high-speed esses and uphill sweeps around the back of the circuit. I?m looking forward to another strong weekend and the opportunity to put some more points on the board.?
Martin Whitmarsh, McLaren team principal
?The points we scored in China were encouraging because they showed that, even without a fully competitive car, we have lost none of our ability to attack over a race weekend and to maximize every opportunity that comes our way. Until our package reaches full competitiveness, that must remain our aim for the Bahrain weekend. Once again, we will introduce a series of upgrades to MP4-24 and remain optimistic that they will once again deliver a further performance improvement. Also, as the home of one of our primary shareholders, it is a particularly special race for everyone within the team and we are made to feel very welcome by our Bahraini hosts.?
Norbert Haug, Mercedes-Benz Motorsport vice-president
?We are looking forward to the second back to back race this season after the first two grands prix within eight days in Melbourne and Sepang. This schedule with four races within five weeks, is a very tough challenge for everybody involved in Formula One. Our performance in dry conditions looked a step better in Shanghai than at the two races before and our aim is to continue in this direction. Anyway - we cannot expect miracles in Bahrain and everybody in the team is absolutely aware of the fact that we have to work day and night in order to come back to the top of the field. We lost already six points in Australia by our own faults and also in Malaysia we should have scored more than one point. In China we achieved for the first time what was achievable, but fifth and sixth places cannot be the target for the team starting with numbers 1 and 2 on their cars. After the first four flyaway races we have to deliver presentable progress in the next four races in Europe. However, it will be very challenging to move into the top three of the team ranking in such a short time.?
Kazuki Nakajima, Williams
2008 Qualifying - 16th, 2008 Race - 14th
?I didn?t have a great weekend in Bahrain last year and found it difficult to get used to the track. I?m more positive going there this year so hopefully it will be a different story. It?s a stop and go track where you need straight line speed, good breaks and traction to do well. Corners 9 and 10 are a bit tricky, you have to really use your breaks and there?s a lot of lateral loading.?
Nico Rosberg, Williams
2008 Qualifying - 8th, 2008 Race - 8th
?I first raced at Bahrain in 2004 in F3, then won the GP2 Championship there in 2005. In my first race for Williams, I started in 12th but took the nose off on the first corner. After I pitted for a new nose, I had a good race and in the end I made my way up to seventh which meant two points. I also got the fastest lap of the race. As I?ve always had good races there, I really enjoy going to Bahrain.
?It?s one of my favourite tracks. Last year the car went well there and we won?t have any issues with warming up the tyres. Downforce level is always really important there for the corners, but then there?s a compromise required so you can fight the other cars on the fast straights. We?re confident going to Bahrain that we can finally get a good result.?
Jarno Trulli, Toyota
2008 Qualifying - 7th, 2008 Race - 6th
"I am looking forward to racing in Bahrain after the tests we had there over the winter. Bahrain was the first chance I had to really test the TF109 in dry conditions and I knew immediately we had a competitive package, which has proved to be the case now the season has started. In testing the car was strong in Bahrain so I have a good feeling for this weekend and I think we can be competitive. Weather and track conditions change from winter testing to the race weekend but it should still help us a bit to have set-up information from the new car at this track, and we have quite a bit of experience now with these two compounds of tyre. I will push as hard as I can, as always, and I know everyone in the team is really motivated so I hope for a smooth and successful weekend."
Timo Glock, Toyota
2008 Qualifying - 13th, 2008 Race - 9th
"The Bahrain Grand Prix is good fun and the track is unique. For car set-up you have to compromise between straightline speed and grip in the slower corners, which is quite a tricky balance to achieve. One issue we face particularly in Bahrain is the wind, which comes in across the desert and can change direction from lap to lap. This can make the car a bit unstable if it blows in the wrong direction but we know what to expect so we can be prepared. Last year I was pretty unlucky in Bahrain because I had to back off with a small technical issue when I was sure I would score my first points for the team. But this season has started in a much better way compared to 2008 and I am confident I can continue to show that good performance."
Pascal Vasselon, Toyota senior general manager, chassis
"We achieved a huge amount of laps in Bahrain during testing and this was very useful in terms of developing the TF109. It should also be useful for this weekend because we have some experience of set-up and slick tyres at this track with the new cars, so we should hit the ground running on Friday. We tested both tyre compounds when we were in Bahrain in February and they performed well in representative temperature conditions so we're not expecting any major problems in that area. Otherwise, Bahrain is quite tough on the brakes; we expect it to be harder on them than any other race this season."
Robert Kubica, BMW Sauber
2008 Qualifying - 1st, 2008 Race - 3rd
"I am looking forward to going to Bahrain. Overall I really like the track, although it is not really challenging. The Bahrain International Circuit has a couple of long straights and three characteristically low-speed corners that require heavy braking. Wind can play an important role in Sakhir as it influences the balance of the car. Also, the wind blows sand onto parts of the track, which leads to changing grip conditions. Luckily we had the chance to test the F1.09 car in Bahrain in February, although weather conditions were unstable and windy then. Last year we performed quite well in Bahrain - after securing pole position in qualifying I managed to finish the race on the podium."
Nick Heidfeld, BMW Sauber
2008 Qualifying - 6th, 2008 Race - 4th
"I enjoy driving in Bahrain. I like the modern complex and the circuit. The section from the fifth to the penultimate corner is particularly well designed. This time I'll be again arriving quite early to allow time for my fitness training. It will be interesting to see what the weather brings. Usually the climate in Bahrain has been very pleasant, but we've also had incredible heat, and during winter testing there was a huge sandstorm. In 2008 there was a concert by Akon after the race, which I also remember well."
Mario Theissen, BMW Motorsport Director
"In Bahrain we aim to bring the first major overseas stint to a positive end. It also marks the end of the second set of back-to-back races within five weeks. We look back on the previous Bahrain Grand Prix with satisfaction: in 2008 Robert gained his first ever pole position with the BMW Sauber F1 Team, achieving another milestone. After our appearance in Shanghai we are now heading for another region that is important to BMW. For us as a manufacturer in the premium sector the Middle East is also a very significant market."
Willy Rampf, BMW Sauber head of engineering
"The Bahrain circuit demands a compromise when it comes to aerodynamic set-up. On the one hand the many slow corners require a high level of downforce, while on the other the exceptional breadth of the track encourages the drivers to overtake, which means we can't leave maximum speed out of the equation. With the low-speed corners, traction and brake balance play a major role. Brake wear on this circuit is particularly high, especially in the turn after the start-finish straight and in turn 4. At night the wind regularly sweeps sand onto the track. Generally conditions improve as the day goes on, but tyre wear can nevertheless be fairly high on account of the sand. That is an important factor for the race strategy."