The Return to Night Racing
The unavailability of Carlos Sainz for the 2024 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix led Ferrari to call Oliver Bearman as a replacement for the Spaniard, with the young British driver finishing a brilliant 7th in his first-ever Formula 1 race. The common element between that GP and the one scheduled this weekend in Bahrain won’t be the car or the host nation, but the fact that the race will take place at night under the artificial lights of Sakhir.
The Advantage of Testing
The track is not an entirely new experience for all the rookies of this season, who were already involved in Formula 2 last year and participated in pre-season testing in February. This factor could help Bearman achieve his third consecutive points finish after results in the top ten in China and Japan: “I’m really excited to be back in Bahrain, it’s the first track I return to in Formula 1 after the pre-season tests held over a month ago,” he commented. “It will be a great weekend, the first night race of the season, and it will be fun.” – the Ferrari junior pointed out.
In Bahrain to Bounce Back
Esteban Ocon, who wants to recover from a negative weekend in Suzuka, will also be in Bahrain. The Frenchman led Haas to its best result of the season in China with a 5th-place finish but ended up outside the points in both Australia and Japan: “Bahrain is a special place for me,” explained the French driver. “First of all, it’s the home of Formula 1; I’ve been here for testing in recent seasons and got my first podium in Bahrain (2020), which will always bring back memories when I go there. It’s a track I like, it has very unique characteristics compared to other tracks; the degradation is very high, everyone knows it by heart, and it’s a physical test for us drivers due to the heat and also the cars. Usually, we know what to expect, but it will be an interesting test for us to return after the testing and see what our real performance is.” – he concluded.
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