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THE 15th edition of the Formula One Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix, set for the last weekend of March 2019, will reach greater heights than ever before when it comes to entertaining race fans on and off the track, writes Stan Szecowka.
Champion Lewis Hamilton will be racing to retain his crown with a pack of hungry young wolves baying for their own glory at the Bahrain International Circuit (BIC).
To get families in a spin with a bird’s eye view of the venue, a giant Ferris wheel, star flyer and carousel will be erected in the F1 Village and the world’s No 1 DJ Martin Garrix has been booked as one of the star concert attractions.
Details were unveiled at a big screen media gathering on Monday evening at VOX cinema at The Avenues, Bahrain and the BIC’s chief executive Shaikh Salman bin Isa Al Khalifa told GulfWeekly: “This is so exciting – it’s going to be nothing short of spectacular.”
Although the season doesn’t conclude until this coming weekend in Abu Dhabi the world’s media will quickly focus on Bahrain as two-time F1 champion Fernando Alonso will swap cars with NASCAR superstar Jimmie Johnson at Sakhir on Monday, the day after the F1 season finale.
Just a few days later, on November 30 and December 1, the BIC stage is set for the Bapco Bahrain GT Festival featuring the new FIA GT Nations Cup, the inaugural SRO GT4 International Cup and the first Bahrain Classic Challenge featuring some of the most iconic racing machines.
But Monday’s event, which included a screening of motorsport movie Rush about the late F1 driver James Hunt, was firmly focused on outlining plans for the landmark desert race, and it once again promises to be a spectacular extravaganza of racing and entertainment, held over four days for the first time ever.
BIC commercial director Sherif Al Mahdy and Gulf Air director of marketing Mohamed Jamsheer revealed some of the major details. Sherif said: “As the 15th edition of our event, we have put together an extra-special programme of the very best of motor sport and family entertainment, and together with Gulf Air and our other valued partners, we cannot wait to deliver another memorable occasion to Formula 1 fans.”
And Mohamed added: “There’s a lot to look forward to and we’re honoured to be a longstanding partner.”
The 21-race 2019 F1 calendar is very similar to this year’s apart from the Chinese GP effectively swapping places with Bahrain and becoming the third destination rather than the second. The race in Shanghai will be the 1,000th grand prix since F1′s inception in 1950.
Shaikh Salman loves the early race setting because it gives the teams’ a ‘second chance’ if the opener in Australia goes awry. “The beginning of the year is very exciting because so much is unknown about the cars and some of the new drivers,” he said. “After the first race the teams know how their cars are performing. They all have their ‘secret adjustments’ ready to bring on throughout the season but if they are far off after the first race, they’ll have to bring them in early for our event – that’s why the second race is always so exciting.”
Five-times Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton has already vowed to ‘raise the bar further next year’ as he told Mercedes factory staff never to stop believing in what they can achieve with some race pundits suggesting even legend Michael Schumacher’s seven titles might be surpassed by the British driver.
After winning in Brazil and helping his team complete a record-equalling fifth consecutive constructors’ and drivers’ title double, he said: “I do believe this team can do it again.”
Shaikh Salman is not so convinced. Can anyone beat Hamilton? “Yes, definitely,” he told GulfWeekly. “I don’t want to take anything away from him or what Mercedes have achieved but I think there is so much talent out there now with these young drivers and it’s getting more and more competitive.
“For us it’s always exciting and I think personally someone will beat him. The Michael Schumacher number keeps coming up but I don’t think that’s possible.”
Aside from Formula 1, there will be plenty of other action with two support races – the FIA Formula 2 Championship likely opener and the Porsche BWT GT3 Cup Challenge Middle East, the championship-finale.
Whilst eyes will be glued on the track action to see whether Red Bull’s Max Verstappen or Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc can outsmart Hamilton, plenty of thrills will await families with the four-day passes around the circuit.
Shaikh Salman said the new attractions came after debriefing sessions following this year’s race to enhance the guest experience in 2019 allowing more people than ever to join in the fun.
“We have a huge 42m Ferris wheel and the Star Flyer swings 60m in the air – you’ll get an amazing view and, with the lights and everything, it’s going to be spectacular,” he said.
Gulf Air CEO Krešimir Kučko is delighted the national airline is on board once again. “This is an exciting time for Gulf Air and the Kingdom of Bahrain as a whole,” he said. “We will be delighted to once again welcome visitors to attend the Formula 1 2019 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix.
“There’s so much to look forward to and, on behalf of Gulf Air, we are honoured to be longstanding partners with Formula 1 and the BIC to bring the race to Bahrain year after year.”
Plenty of music lovers will be drawn to fly in. Martin Garrix, the act set to light up the stage on the Friday evening, has risen to global stardom in pop as well as electronic circles and has headlined festivals around the globe. His hit Animals reached No 1 in the UK and picked up more than a billion streams across several platforms.
He went on to win two MTV EMAs, a ‘Man of Today’ accolade from GQ magazine and a spot among Forbes’ ‘30 Under 30’ and another at Billboard’s ‘EDM Power Players’.
Garrix is the first of a number of A-list artistes who will be performing at BIC at next year’s grand prix. The others will be announced over the next few weeks.
Tickets to the Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix 2019 are already being snapped up thanks to a discount of up to 20 per cent under an Early Bird offer, available for a limited time.
Under the Early Bird, Main Grandstand seating costs BD120 per four-day ticket. Batelco Grandstand seats are BD102 each, Turn One Grandstand tickets are BD85, and University and Victory Grandstand seats are BD51 apiece.
Check out www.bahraingp.com for more details, call the BIC Hotline on 17450000 or visit the BIC stand in Bahrain City Centre.
