Formula 1
Bahrain GP: Williams preview
Bahrain International Circuit in a nutshell Race strategies tend to be conventional in Bahrain. Teams tend to favour two stop fuel loads and build in a margin of flexibility to guard against possible safety car interruptions, but the same cannot be ...
Published: Jun 19, 2009, 7:51 PM
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Bahrain International Circuit in a nutshell Race strategies tend to be conventional in Bahrain. Teams tend to favour two stop fuel loads and build in a margin of flexibility to guard against possible safety car interruptions, but the same cannot be said of the location. Bahrain became the first Middle Eastern state to host a World Championship Grand Prix in 2004 and the circuit is frequently sandblasted, and rendered very slippery, by fierce winds that whip across the adjacent desert.
What the Drivers Say
Conclusions from China -- Reflections from another wet race
Nico "Once again it didn't go our way in China. My major problem was a real lack of visibility as the water just wasn't clearing off my visor. We also made some calls that didn't work out well. It's nice that we now have another race straightaway that we can look forward to doing better at."
Kazuki "Shanghai was difficult. The water on the track just caused you to aquaplane, particularly at the exit of the last corner, and I went off a couple of times before I finally retired with a transmission problem. We had a good de-brief afterwards and hopefully we can keep up the pace we have and translate that into something good this weekend."
On the Bahrain International Circuit
Kazuki "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 "Bahrain is 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."
On Bahrain itself
Nico "It might not be the most interesting place we go to, but I've always had good experiences there. 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 7th 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."
Kazuki "Bahrain isn't a particularly interesting place to visit! There's not much to do or see so I think I'll be staying in my hotel a lot!
On the break between Shanghai and Bahrain
Kazuki "I'm going to Dubai before Bahrain. I'll be with my trainer so we'll be doing lots of preparation work to get me ready for the hot weather we're expecting."
Nico "I'm going to Bahrain early to get used to the time difference. I'll just be chilling out and doing some training I think."
-credit: williams
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