Last Time Out

Last time out, at the Bahrain GP circuit, Lewis Hamilton took another win, after being crowned the seven time world champion at the previous race in Turkey. There was little doubt early on that Hamilton wouldn't gain victory. 

However the battle for third place took a late turn in the favor of Alexander Albon, who snatched the final podium place from Sergio Perez, with the Mexican's car failing to see out the race.

However the race was largely overshadowed by the horrific accident that happened to Haas driver Romain Grosjean after just three turns. The incident caused a red flag and resulted in Romain penetrating the armco barrier on the straight at turn three.

The Frenchman was taken to a nearby military hospital, having suffered burns to his ankles and wrists, along with suspected bruising on his ribs.

This Weekend

There has been plenty of movement coming into the second race in Bahrain. The events were triggered by the new that was announced on Monday morning, that Lewis Hamilton was to be ruled out of the race after a positive Coronavirus test. This news has seen Williams driver and Mercedes junior driver George Russell take the step up to race alongside Valtteri Bottas for the weekend. 

Williams have selected current Campos driver Jack Aitken as their replacement for Russell, after a difficult campaign for the Brit in Formula 2 this season. Aitken, who is a current member of the Williams driver academy and formerly a member of the Renault driver academy, will be looking to make an impact against Nicholas Latifi.

Haas have also had to make a change for this weekend, after the horrific crash that Romain Grosjean was involved in last time out. Much like Mercedes and Williams, Haas have also called upon one of their development drivers, in the form of Pietro Fittipaldi.

However, Haas would also go on to announce their two new drivers for the 2021 season shortly after. The two seats will be filled by Nikita Mazapin, from Hitech GP in F2 and Mick Schumacher, from Prema who also compete in F2. 

Track Profile

This year spells the first appearance of the so called 'Oval' version of the Bahrain track, which will see the drivers take an almost Nascar style approach to the race.

The teams will be heavily focused on straight line speed for this weekend, with teams such as Renault and Mercedes with strong engines looking for some easy points.

Timings 

Friday 4th December 

Fp1: 13:30 - 15:00

Fp2: 17:30 - 19:00

Saturday 5th December 

Fp3: 15:00 - 16:00

Qualifying : 18:00 - 19:00

Sunday 6th December 

Race: 17:10 

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