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At a Glance…
When Friday April 24 to Sunday April 26, 2009
Where Bahrain International Circuit, Bahrain
Round 4 of 17
Standings AT&T Williams 3.5pts (8th), N Rosberg 3.5 pts (11th), K
Nakajima 0 (18th)
Bahrain Hot Topics
Will the team pick up some valuable points in Bahrain?
How will the form change under dry conditions?
Who has a new diffuser?
Race Data
Friday:
Practice 1: 10:00 - 11:30
Practice 2: 14:00 - 15:30
Saturday:
Practice 3: 11:00 - 12:00
Qualifying: 14:00 – 15:00
Sunday:
Race: 15:00
Lap Distance 5.412km Laps 57 Distance 308.238kmh
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.
Talking Technical:
Car Dynamics:
Average turn angle indicates the average angle of a circuit’s corners
expressed in degrees. The higher the average turn angle, the more acute
the corners in the circuit’s configuration and the greater propensity
for understeer to compromise lap time. At Bahrain, the average turn
angle is 123.560, against a season average of 1100, ranking it as the
circuit with the 5th highest average turn angle across the Championship.
The end of straight (EOS) speed at Bahrain was 303kp/h in 2008. Bahrain
ranks as having the 8th fastest EOS speed on the 2009 calendar, and this
is one indicator of the wing level typically selected to optimise the
downforce/drag
ratio. As the average speed around Bahrain is the 8th fastest of any of
the tracks, a compromise is required.
Pitlane & Refuelling Strategy
The pitlane length and profile (i.e. corners in the pitlane entry)
contribute to the determination of the optimum fuel strategy. The
pitlane loss at Bahrain is approximately 23 seconds, the 5th most
penalising pitlane in the Championship. To complete a normalised
distance of 5km around the Bahrain circuit requires 2.66kg of fuel
against an average of 2.42kg per 5km across all circuits this season,
making the circuit the 4th least demanding track of the year in
terms of fuel consumption.
Safety Car
Another key contributor to the determination of race strategy is the
likelihood of safety car deployments, which are influenced by weather
considerations, the availability of clear run-off areas that allow
racing to continue while recovery takes place and the circuit profile,
especially the character of the entry and exit into turn one at the
start of the race. Since the race debuted on the calendar in 2004, there
has been 1 safety car deployment in Bahrain, in 2007, making it
statistically unlikely that the circuit’s character will induce safety
car periods. The first two races of this season have already seen 5
safety car periods, however, so anything is possible!
Temperature, Pressure & Humidity
It is a long observed
tradition that drivers arriving at Interlagos complain about a lack of
grip and an absence of engine power. Having become acquainted with a
baseline of engine and aerodynamic
performance during the season, the climb to 750 metres above sea level
for one of the final races can, courtesy of the reduction in air
density, rob a Formula One car of engine power, aerodynamic performance
and cooling. The losses can come close to double digit percentages and
thus have a very real impact on car performance. Air density is a factor
of the prevailing ambient temperature, which varies most significantly
by season, air pressure which is closely linked to altitude and, to a
much smaller degree, by humidity. Thus if races are run at the same time
each year, the factor that tends to have the greatest bearing on air
density is elevation. Like half the races on the calendar, Bahrain is
close to sea level, just 10m above, and has an average pressure (1,011
mbar), so engine power will be good.
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.”
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