Some stats from Saturday’s Formula 1 Bahrain Grand Prix at the Sakhir circuit:
Distance of the route: 5,412 km. Total distance: 308. 238 km (57 laps)
2023 winner: Max Verstappen (Netherlands) Red Bull
2023 pole: Verstappen, one minute 29. 708 seconds
Fastest race lap 2023: Guanyu Zhou (China) Alfa Romeo 1:33. 996.
Lap record: 1:31. 447 seconds, Pedro de los angeles Rosa (Spain), 2005 McLaren.
Departure time: 15:00 GMT (18:00 local)
BAHRAIN
The race, which takes place on an old camel farm in the desert south of the capital Manama, marks its 20th edition after starting in 2004 as the first Grand Prix in the Middle East.
It was not held in 2011 due to social unrest and there were two races on track in 2020 as Formula 1 was dealing with the Covid pandemic.
The track features one of the most abrasive surfaces of the season and tyre degradation is high.
Lewis Hamilton is the most successful engine in the race with five wins at Sakhir, all with Mercedes. Fernando Alonso has won three times.
Ferrari has won the Bahrain GP seven times.
Red Bull’s Sergio Perez took his first F1 win, on his 190th outing, at the circuit in 2020 (Sakhir Grand Prix) while with Racing Point (now Aston Martin).
George Russell made his Mercedes debut at the track in 2020, Hamilton.
CHAMPIONSHIP MANAGER
Verstappen led the championship for 39 consecutive races from Spain in May 2022.
CAREER GAINS
Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton has a record 103 wins from 332 starts, but continues his first since 2021: a run of forty-five races without a win.
Red Bull won 21 of 22 races last year, with Verstappen winning 19, and won 31 of the last 33.
HEAD POSITION
Hamilton has a career-high 104 pole positions, his recent high in Hungary last year.
PODIUMS
Verstappen set a record of 21 podiums in a season last year, but Michael Schumacher remains the only driver to have stood on the podium in each and every race of a season (2002).
CAN OPENER
In last year’s race, Verstappen took the first win of the season.
This will be the first time the Bahrain race will be held on a Saturday.
MILESTONE
One more win will bring Red Bull to the point with Williams tied for fourth on the all-time winners list with 114.
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