Flip through the latest issue of Gulf Weekly.
With F1 scheduled to race at Monza, Mugello and the Nurburgring, the season was already promising tremendous excitement. Yet with the addition of two races in Bahrain and the traditional finale in Abu Dhabi, those levels have risen even further.
The advent of double-headers has brought intrigue to F1 at a time that it is facing increasing accusations about being processional and boring. There have already been two hosts, Austria and the UK, that have held races on consecutive weekends and results have differed on each occasion.
Of course, there are myriad reasons; the differences in strategy, inclement conditions and ultimately results that make these double-headers so fascinating.
Bahrain is able to set itself apart as it will be running different circuits each weekend.
The first weekend will see the driver’s race around the traditional 5.4km circuit. However, the second will see Sakhir open its 11-bend outer circuit, which is 3.664km, for the first time to international competition.
This ticks several boxes. One of the common complaints for spectators, when they are allowed, is that it can take less than a second for an F1 car to whizz past their seat and then take too long to return! One advantage of this course will be that cars are expected to circumnavigate it in less than a minute, meaning more laps and more action – in fact 87 laps in total, the most this year.
The only time that cars have recorded a sub-60 second lap was in 1974 when Nikki Lauda recorded a 58.8s lap in his Ferrari in France. Bahrain is again allowing F1 to test new concepts and push the limits.
Shorter lap times typically lead to closer qualifying and tighter race action, particularly as the race will come at a time when the “super modes” on engines will be prohibited by the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA).
Another big plus will be the speeds that cars reach around Turn Nine which will provide enhanced overtaking opportunities in front of the Victory grandstand, particularly if it is designated a DRS zone. If cars position themselves well, they can also generate slipstream to increase overtakes past the main grandstand which may include cars reclaiming a place if they have been passed before entering Turns 10 and 11.
I had thought that the circuit would revert to the layout used in the season-opener of 2010 when they added a technically challenging 800m loop after Turn Five. I believe that this is a better option.
For motor racing purists in Bahrain, the news gets even better. The organisers of the World Endurance Championship (WEC) have agreed to host the FIA WEC 2020 8 Hours of Bahrain two weeks before the first F1 race, meaning three consecutive weekends of action.
Understandably, a decision is yet to be made whether to allow spectators or not. Even if they are permitted, there will naturally need to be differences to maintain social distancing. Yet the one thing that Covid has taught us is that there is now a genuine opportunity to think outside the box and bring racing to the fans in new ways.
Bahrain has already demonstrated to the motor racing world its ability to move quickly when needed, such as the speed with which the new track and stadium was built for the first race in 2004.
It is my personal hope that those involved look for creative solutions to change the ways in which Bahrain fans can access the sport and potentially set new standards. Here are a few thoughts:
l The Sakhir circuit has large parts that remain out of reach to spectators. Many European circuits allow seating on natural grass banks. This could be arranged on the many sand banks; particularly where the off roads track is situated. For a select few, this could even be extended to include the inner tracks. The night time racing for WEC provides a particularly spectacular setting and would be the perfect test bed for F1.
l Video access could be established to provide greater access to the inner workings of the race. These could include a paddock-cam showing the arrivals and movements of drivers and celebrities as well as the action in the garages.
l It would also be interesting to provide fans with some telemetrics including sensors showing driver’s heart rates and G-forces.
l Greater access could be provided to racing action with official footage being fed to online viewers. This could be extended to allow split screen options to mirror the views watched by team management which would enable comparisons of data from competing cars and teams. I would also love to see an option where the driver’s view is fed into a VR headset.
The announcement of a Bahrain double-header has already got pulses racing – it certainly has mine!
The Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix 2020 will take place from November 27 to 29 while the Formula 1 Rolex Sakhir Grand Prix 2020 will be held from December 4 to 6. The 8 Hours of Bahrain will take place on November 14.
