|
Ahead of the 2026 Bahrain
Grand Prix in Malaysia, Paul Williams, Chief Trackside Engineer, shares
insights into the key technical factors that will shape the weekend.
What are the key
technical challenges of Sepang?
• We return to Sepang for the first time since 2017, hosting the Bahrain
Grand Prix in Malaysia. There is no current-generation reference data for
the circuit and, although ten drivers on the grid have raced here before,
none have done so in this era of car. Friday practice will carry a heavier
correlation burden than usual for every team.
• The layout combines two
long straights, joined by the Turn 15 hairpin, with a wide, flowing
sequence of medium- and high-speed corners. The fast off-camber T5/6, the
double-apex T7/8 and the combined braking-and-turning entries to T11 and
T14 place the emphasis on a positive front end but with entry stability.
• Hot and most humid event, with ambient temperatures around 32°C, track
temperatures approaching 60°C and humidity above 80%; a heat hazard
declaration is highly likely.
• The weather will be a significant
factor. The early-October slot sits in one of Kuala Lumpur’s wettest
periods, with intense afternoon thunderstorms common. There is a high
probability of rain at some point during the weekend, which will disrupt
data collection and leave open questions heading into both qualifying and
the Grand Prix.
How do the 2026 regulations
influence the approach this weekend?
• Sepang sits close to the
season average for energy sensitivity in both qualifying and the race, in
a similar place to Montreal or Austria.
• It will nevertheless be a
challenging energy management circuit. The high proportion of high-speed
corners requires careful throttle management by the driver, and will be
challenging for the team to set the correct concurrency and power clip
options.
What are the tyre
challenges of the circuit?
• Pirelli have allocated the middle of
the range, C2 (hard), C3 (medium) and C4 (soft), which is well suited to
the circuit’s moderate tyre energy density and hot conditions.
Lower-than-expected minimum starting pressures have been issued by
Pirelli.
• The track was very rough when last measured in 2017 and has
since been partially resurfaced in 2023. We expect it to remain rough
overall.
• Qualifying: If the surface remains rough, tyre warm-up
should be comparatively easy. The soft is expected to be a clear
first-timed-lap tyre owing to high rear surface overheating through the
final sector.
• Grand Prix: Degradation is expected to be driven by
rear overheating, both bulk and surface, together with front-left wear.
Graining is not expected to be an issue.
What are the strategic
considerations for the race?
• The Grand Prix currently appears to
be a one-stop race, medium to hard, although there is some uncertainty
around tyre degradation until we have representative long-run data.
•
The hard is likely to be the best race tyre, so we expect the majority of
the field to save two sets for Sunday.
• Overtaking difficulty has
historically been close to the season average. The two consecutive long
straights at the end and start of the lap are likely to reward drivers who
spend their electrical energy carefully, particularly when attacking or
defending. Pit loss is relatively high, at around 22 seconds including the
stationary time.
|
