Bahrain GP: Driver Preview Quotes - Red Bull

DRIVER PREVIEW QUOTES - ASTON MARTIN RED BULL RACING

Daniel Ricciardo - “Bahrain is great. The weather is warm, the paddock is modern, the hotel is amazing and it’s a really nice week that I enjoy after such a busy home race in Australia. It’s actually quite a tricky event as the practice sessions are in the heat of the day but the important sessions, qualifying and the race, are in the evening when the track cools so you have to be very adaptive with the set-up.

    Normally if you’re quick you don’t want to touch the car but in Bahrain you are forced to as the conditions change so much in the evenings. The track is one that I’ve always done well on so let’s hope it continues to be good to me."

Max Verstappen - “I always enjoy going to Bahrain, I have a few friends out there so it’s always nice to catch up with them and enjoy the warmth. 

    The weekend is an interesting one as you only have one session to understand how the car behaves under the night race conditions because the other two sessions are during the day, so it’s a bit hot. The track itself is very technical, you have some slow corners and then you end up in some really fast corners which makes it a fun circuit. Driving under the lights is always nice as we don’t get a lot of opportunity throughout the year.

    The go-kart track there is really good, I had a world championship race there when I was younger. It was very new at the time but I really enjoyed it."

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Bahrain GP: Driver Preview Quotes - Force India

DRIVER PREVIEW QUOTES - SAHARA FORCE INDIA F1 TEAM

Sergio Perez - “Racing in Bahrain is good fun. It’s unusual because you’re in the desert and we also race under the lights. It’s actually one of my favourite tracks of the year and I’ve always gone well there. It’s where I had my first podium with Force India (in 2014) so I have those memories every time we go back there.

    The Bahrain track often creates good racing. I still remember the battle I had with my old teammate, Jenson Button, in 2013. The layout really allows you to race wheel-to-wheel at times. If you lose a position in turn one, you can fight back through turns two, three and four.

    It was difficult to overtake in Melbourne, but Bahrain should be a bit easier because it’s a more traditional track. We’ve got to be targeting points this weekend. Melbourne showed just how close all the teams are in the middle of the grid, so it’s especially important to have a clean weekend and maximize every session.

    The development race will be very intense this year, but I know we have good things coming. We need to do what we have done in the last few years by making improvements to the car at each race. We’ve already made a step forward since pre-season testing so we need to keep working in the same direction.”

Esteban Ocon - “When I think about Bahrain I always remember the beautiful paddock, which has so much space and looks amazing at night with all the trees lit up. Every year there’s a barbeque for the paddock and it’s nice that all the teams and media can come together before the racing begins.

    I love racing at night. It almost feels quicker under the lights and it looks better on television. Hopefully the fans like it as much as the drivers. The track is good fun and there are a few good overtaking spots, such as turn one and turn four.

    It’s a track that feels very satisfying when your car is working well. I particularly enjoy turns five, six and seven because they are so quick and then you’re immediately into a big braking zone for turn eight. It’s tricky because you approach at really high speed and it’s easy to make a mistake and run wide.

    It’s a tough weekend physically because of the heat. The daytime practice sessions are the most difficult, but fortunately it gets a bit cooler in the evenings for qualifying and the race. You need to drink lots to be hydrated and make sure you don’t lose concentration.”

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Bahrain GP: Driver Preview Quotes - Renault

DRIVER PREVIEW QUOTES - RENAULT SPORT FORMULA ONE TEAM

Nico Hulkenberg - "The Bahrain International Circuit is a great facility in the middle of the desert. The track itself is quite technical with the natural elements adding a few further challenges, most notably the wind. I really enjoy Bahrain as the heat is guaranteed and the atmosphere is always good to experience. After Australia, we’ve sent out a positive message from Enstone and Viry, but we need to reduce the gap to the front and that’s the challenge."

Carlos Sainz - "The circuit can be tough on the braking system, and some braking points change slightly throughout the weekend due to the timings of the sessions. It’s always cool racing at night and under the lights, which makes this race one of the more unique of the calendar. Scoring points at the first Grand Prix of the year is always important and the pace was there, so I can’t wait to jump into the car in Bahrain."

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Bahrain GP: Driver Preview Quotes - Haas

DRIVER PREVIEW QUOTES - HAAS F1 TEAM

Romain Grosjean - “A good result will help us to forget Australia. Let’s get to Bahrain, let’s do our work, like we did in Australia, focus on our jobs and see where we are at the end. Hopefully, we can have another good surprise.

    I love driving in Bahrain. I’ve always had a good feeling there, and I think it’s a really exciting track for racing and overtaking. We’ll see how it goes again. As I said, it’s always given me a good feeling, and I’m hopeful I can keep it going.

    It’s one of those tracks where there are many opportunities to overtake, which is amazing. Obviously there’s turn one, but turn three, turn 11, turn 15 – they all make it probably one of the best circuits for racing.

    It’s certainly easier to find braking points in Bahrain than it is in Monaco or Singapore. You know if you miss it, or overshoot your braking point, you’re just going to go straight and have another go on the next lap. Some street circuits it’s straight into the wall. It’s a bit easier to get used to it and find the limit.”

Kevin Magnussen - “It was good to have a competitive car in Australia. I enjoyed driving the car all weekend, but there’s no guarantee we’ll be that strong in Bahrain, so we have to work hard to try and understand the car and make sure we carry the performance forward into the next race.

    It felt really good being competitive and being able to compete at the right end of the series. I hope we can continue that way. I’m not taking anything for granted. Again, we have a good car, but I’m cautious. We’ll take it one race at a time.

    It would be great to have a good result in Bahrain after such big disappointment in Australia. We’ve got to start building points, as we’ve fallen behind after Australia. We’ve got to catch up.

    Bahrain is a much better circuit for overtaking than Australia. I don’t think we’re going to have as many negative comments about a boring race in Bahrain because the track layout is a lot better for racing and overtaking. I’m sure we’ll see an exciting Grand Prix.”

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Bahrain GP: Driver Preview Quotes - Toro Rosso

DRIVER PREVIEW QUOTES - RED BULL TORO ROSSO HONDA

Brendon Hartley -“Bahrain is a track I have some nice memories from, it was where we clinched our first world title back in 2015 with Mark Webber and Timo Bernhard in the Porsche LMP1 team, so I’m really happy to go back there. I wouldn’t say it’s my strongest track on the calendar, but it’s one that I know very well. We didn’t score points in Melbourne, but there were plenty of positives from the weekend and I believe Bahrain should be a better track for us. My goal for this weekend stays the same: to score my first points in Formula 1.” 

Pierre Gasly - “What comes to my mind when I think about Bahrain is pole position in 2015, I was on pole in the GP2 race the second time we went there, it’s a track I quite like and it’s the first time I’m going to race there with a Formula 1 car this year. It’s usually pretty hot there, but Formula 1 races during the night which will be something new to me, so we will see. It’s not my favourite track but it’s quite a cool one!”

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Bahrain GP: Driver Preview Quotes - Williams

DRIVER PREVIEW QUOTES - WILLIAMS MARTINI RACING

Lance Stroll - "As usual, this will certainly be a hot weekend. I enjoy the track, and it has a good rhythm to it. The conditions during the weekend are always tricky because practice is during the day and then qualifying and the race are at night. This means there is a lot of adapting going on throughout the weekend. However, I think it is going to be a good one and am looking forward to getting back there."

Sergey Sirotkin - "I can’t wait for the weekend to begin. It was a very tough weekend in Melbourne and I really feel like I need another shot to bring us back to where we think we deserve to be, and to start everything from zero, and to try and get some confidence back in all of us. I know the track quite well and I think it suits some strong points of our car. I’m looking forward to it and let’s see 
what we can do."

    Bahrain is a great track with a unique atmosphere under the lights as darkness falls in the desert. It is a tricky race for car setup, as FP1 and FP3 occur in the afternoon with very high track temperatures and do not represent the cooler conditions seen in the twilight sessions for qualifying and the race. Therefore, FP2 is extremely important for our preparation. It will be interesting to see how the 2018 tyres perform in Bahrain and if they throw up more variety in race strategies. It is the first normal race track of the 2018 season with more predictable weather, so we should get a more representative comparison of the underlying performance of each team. After Sergey’s unfortunate DNF in Australia from a freak plastic bag, we hope to get him to complete his first race distance and that Lance can show well at his second year at this circuit."

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Bahrain GP: Driver Preview Quotes - Sauber

DRIVER PREVIEW QUOTES - ALFA ROMEO SAUBER F1 TEAM

Marcus Ericsson - “Off to the first back-to-back of the year. Bahrain is a track that I know very well. I have been there a lot of times and enjoy driving on it. The track has different challenges to it, one being the sand surrounding it. Depending on the wind and weather conditions, this can become a defining factor. In the middle of the track, there is a very technical left hand corner which is one of the most difficult ones of the season. It also offers some good overtaking opportunities which I look forward to. After seeing our potential in Australia, we are going into round 2 feeling positive.”

Charles Leclerc - “After having participated in my first Formula 1 race in Australia, I look forward to going into my second round, as I will be familiar with all of the activities taking place at the track throughout the race weekend. I’m excited to go to Bahrain. I know the track from last year when I raced there in Formula 2, and have great memories. I had one of my best races there. The track is interesting. The temperatures are very high, which is very aggressive on the tyres. This creates interesting strategies due to the degradation that takes place. Let’s see what the next race will bring.”

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Bahrain GP: Driver Preview Quotes - McLaren

DRIVER PREVIEW QUOTES - McLAREN F1 TEAM

Fernando Alonso - “After a positive start to the season I’m already really excited to head to Bahrain and get back in the car. Australia gave us a positive feeling and I hope we can continue that momentum as we head into these back-to-back races.

    I know the team are working hard back at the factory to push through the upgrades that are in the pipeline, as these, along with the development work we’re doing on the chassis and with the power unit, are what will be key to unlocking further performance from our car.

    We mustn’t get complacent – these two races in Bahrain and Shanghai are tough on the cars and it’s important that we maintain good reliability if we are to maximize our potential. The competition is very strong and we need to keep pushing forward for more points.”

Stoffel Vandoorne - “I’m very happy to be heading to Bahrain on the back of a positive weekend for us in Australia. There’s a good feeling in the team and we’re all working hard to keep that going. We know there’s a lot to do and every race brings a new set of challenges.

    Bahrain is a great venue – it’s where I started my F1 career when I filled in for Fernando as reserve driver in 2016, and it’s an important race for us thanks to our shareholders. The weather is good and the later-than-usual programme for the weekend sets it apart from a lot of other tracks we visit.

    Racing from day to night always feels special and makes this grand prix so unique – it means it’s very different from Australia in terms of set-up so I’m keen to maximize track time to work on preparation with the engineers. Last year I had a lot of bad luck there reliability-wise so I’m hoping we can have better fortunes there this time around.”

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Bahrain GP: Circuit Preview

BAHRAIN GRAND PRIX 2018 - CIRCUIT PREVIEW

Name: Bahrain International Circuit

Location: Sakhir, Bahrain

Opened: March 17th, 2004

Length: 3.363 Miles

Capacity: 70,000

Runs: Clockwise

Turns: 15

Race Laps: 57

2017 RACE STATS:

Pole Position: Valtteri Bottas

1st Place: Sebastian Vettel

2nd Place: Lewis Hamilton

3rd Place: Valtteri Bottas

Retirements: Stoffel Vandoorne (DID NOT START - Water Pressure), Kevin Magnussen (Electrical), Max Verstappen (Brakes), Lance Stroll (Collision), Carlos Sainz (Collision), Marcus Ericsson (Gearbox) & Fernando Alonso (Power Unit)*

* - Notes Alonso retired from the race but had completed at least 90% of the race distance and qualified as finished.

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Bahrain GP: Track Schedule

BAHRAIN GRAND PRIX 2018 - TRACK SCHEDULE

April 5th / Thursday

15:00 - 16:00 - Press Conference

19:15 - 19:45 - Pit-Lane Walk (F1 Experience - F1 Experience Guests Only)

19:45 - 20:15 - Drive The Track Tour (F1 Experience - F1 Experience Guests Only)

April 6th / Friday

12:30 - 13:30 - Paddock Club Pit-Lane Walk

14:00 - 15:30 - Free Practice #1

15:45 - 17:00 - Paddock Club Pit-Lane Walk

16:00 - 17:00 - Press Conference

18:00 - 19:30 - Free Practice #2

20:40 - 21:10 - Paddock Club Truck Tour

April 7th / Saturday

11:40 - 12:40 - Paddock Club Pit-Lane Walk

12:10 - 12:30 - Team Pit-Stop Practice

15:00 - 16:00 - Free Practice #3

16:15 - 17:25 - Paddock Club Pit-Lane Walk

16:45 - 17:15 - Paddock Club Truck Tour

18:00 - 19:00 - Qualifying

19:40 - 20:10 - Paddock Club Truck Tour

April 8th / Sunday

15:00 - 16:00 - Drivers Autograph Session

15:40 - 17:25 - Paddock Club Pit-Lane Walk

16:30 - 17:00 - Paddock Club Truck Tour

16:40 - 17:10 - Drivers Track Parade

16:55 - 17:25 - Starting Grid Presentation

17:10 - 17:25 - Parachute Display (TBC)

17:56 - 17:58 - National Anthem

17:58 - 17:59 - Gulf Air Fly Past (TBC)

18:10 - 20:10 - Race

* - Subject to change

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