Harlow discusses the challenges of the Bahrain track

Less than 24 hours after the end of the Malaysian Grand Prix, the Etihad Aldar Spyker Formula One Team flew west to the Kingdom of Bahrain for the third event of the 17-round FIA Formula One World Championship. The team's Chief Engineer, Dominic Harlow, discusses the challenges of the Bahrain International Circuit:

Dominic Harlow "Last year Bahrain opened the season, however this year it’s back in its more accustomed slot in early April. It’s the Bahraini springtime, but of course the weather can still be very hot; we can normally expect an average temperature of 30 C. Unlike Malaysia, however, where the temperatures can be even hotter, you’re unlikely to see rain over the Bahrain race weekend. In fact, the chance of rain is incredibly slim - there is an average one day of rain in this region in April! Statistically, this makes it the driest race of the year.

The dry, arid heat has created a desert-like environment and sand and dust from the dunes that surround the circuit can be blown onto it by the swirling Gulf winds, which can make the already coarse surface very gritty.

The 5.412km circuit has tight corners allied with long straights that require good straight line speed, traction and braking. The latter two are especially important, but it can be hard to balance the need for stability in these areas while maintaining grip in the slower corners such as turns 10 and 13 where front wheel locking on entry is often a problem.

The long straights mean this is a circuit where engine performance is especially important and it has one of the highest wide open throttle times per lap of almost anywhere else in the championship except Monza. After all these long straights braking down into the slower corners gives a high wear rate for brakes - possibly the highest of the year.

It’s a medium-high downforce track and, with the hard and medium tyres available this weekend, I would expect to see very similar strategies to Malaysia for Qualifying and the race."