2021 Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix

[Big Kev]

2021 FORMULA 1 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP SEASON

Dun….dun dun dun dun dun dun da dun duuuunnnnn….

The 2021 Formula One World Championship is GO!



Calendar file

https://www.formula1.com/calendar/Formu ... lendar.ics


Teams and Drivers
Team
Constructor/chassis/power unit
Drivers

Alfa Romeo Racing Orlen
Alfa Romeo Racing-Ferrari C41 Ferrari
7 Finland Kimi Räikkönen
99 Italy Antonio Giovinazzi

Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda
AlphaTauri-Honda AT02 Honda RA621H
10 France Pierre Gasly
22 Japan Yuki Tsunoda

France Alpine F1 Team
Alpine-Renault A521 Renault E-Tech 20B
14 Spain Fernando Alonso
31 France Esteban Ocon

Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One Team
Aston Martin-Mercedes AMR21 Mercedes-AMG F1 M12
5 Germany Sebastian Vettel
18 Canada Lance Stroll

Scuderia Ferrari Mission Winnow
Ferrari SF21 Ferrari
16 Monaco Charles Leclerc
55 Spain Carlos Sainz Jr.

Uralkali Haas F1 Team
Haas-Ferrari VF-21 Ferrari
9 Nikita Mazepin
47 Germany Mick Schumacher

McLaren F1 Team
McLaren-Mercedes MCL35M Mercedes-AMG F1 M12
3 Australia Daniel Ricciardo
4 United Kingdom Lando Norris

Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team
Mercedes F1 W12 Mercedes-AMG F1 M12
44 United Kingdom Lewis Hamilton
77 Finland Valtteri Bottas

Red Bull Racing Honda
Red Bull Racing-Honda RB16B Honda RA621H
11 Mexico Sergio Pérez
33 Netherlands Max Verstappen

Williams Racing
Williams-Mercedes FW43B Mercedes-AMG F1 M12
6 Canada Nicholas Latifi
63 United Kingdom George Russell


Calendar Changes
The races will run as listed below, Covid restrictions depending. The sporting regulations were amended to allow for a maximum of twenty-five Grands Prix per year.
- The Dutch Grand Prix is due to be revived, with the race scheduled to take place at the Circuit Zandvoort. The race will mark the first time the Dutch Grand Prix has been run since 1985.
- The Saudi Arabian Grand Prix is due to make its debut, with a night race to be held on a temporary circuit in the city of Jeddah. Further plans to move the Grand Prix to Qiddiya in 2023 were also made public. The race is scheduled to take place at night, the third venue to host a night race after the Singapore and Bahrain Grands Prix.
- The Vietnamese Grand Prix, which was cancelled in 2020 due to the pandemic, was dropped from the 2021 calendar because of the arrest on corruption charges of a Hanoi's People's Committee Chairman Nguyen Duc Chung, a key official responsible for organising the race.
- The Brazilian Grand Prix will be renamed as the São Paulo Grand Prix in deference to the increased involvement from local government.


2021 FIA Formula One World Championship Race Calendar
1 Bahrain Grand Prix Bahrain International Circuit, Sakhir 28 March
2 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix Imola Circuit, Imola 18 April
3 Portuguese Grand Prix Algarve International Circuit, Portimão 2 May
4 Spanish Grand Prix Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Montmeló 9 May
5 Monaco Grand Prix Circuit de Monaco, Monte Carlo 23 May
6 Azerbaijan Grand Prix Baku City Circuit, Baku 6 June
7 Canadian Grand Prix Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, Montréal 13 June
8 French Grand Prix Circuit Paul Ricard, Le Castellet 27 June
9 Austrian Grand Prix Red Bull Ring, Spielberg 4 July
10 British Grand Prix Silverstone Circuit, Silverstone 18 July
11 Hungarian Grand Prix Hungaroring, Mogyoród 1 August
12 Belgian Grand Prix Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Stavelot 29 August
13 Dutch Grand Prix Circuit Zandvoort, Zandvoort 5 September
14 Italian Grand Prix Monza Circuit, Monza 12 September
15 Russian Grand Prix Sochi Autodrom, Sochi 26 September
16 Singapore Grand Prix Marina Bay Street Circuit, Singapore 3 October
17 Japanese Grand Prix Suzuka International Racing Course, Suzuka 10 October
18 United States Grand Prix Circuit of the Americas, Austin, Texas 24 October
19 Mexico City Grand Prix Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, Mexico City 31 October
20 São Paulo Grand Prix Autódromo José Carlos Pace, São Paulo 7 November
21 Australian Grand Prix Albert Park Circuit, Melbourne 21 November
22 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix Jeddah Street Circuit, Jeddah 5 December
23 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi 12 December


Team Changes

- McLaren will be using Mecedes power units instead of Renault, resuming the McLaren-Mercedes partnership that ran between 1995 and 2014.
- Racing Point will become known as Aston Martin.
- Renault will become known as Alpine, taking on the name of Renault's sportscar brand.


Driver Changes

IN
Fernando Alonso [Alpine]
Mick Schumacher [Haas]
Nikita Mazepin [Haas]
Yuki Tsunoda [Alpha Tauri]

MOVED
Sebastian Vettel [Ferrari to Aston Martin]
Carlos Sainz [McLaren to Ferrari]
Daniel Ricciardo [Renault to McLaren]
Sergio Pérez [Racing Point to Red Bull]

OUT
Alex Albon [Red Bull] - RBR reserve driver
Romain Grosjean [Haas] - Indycar
Kevin Magnussen [Haas] - IMSA/WEC
Daniil Kvyat [Alpha Tauri] - Alpine reserve driver



Financial Regulation Changes

- The championship is due to introduce a budget cap, with teams limited to spending a maximum of $145 million per year. Teams will be required to use more commercially available materials and to submit their annual expenditure.
- The value of the budget cap is set for twenty-one races; each additional race increases the budget cap by $1 million, and vice versa: each race removed from the scheduled twenty-one race calendar deducts the budget cap by $1 million. However, the budget cap does not include marketing budget, driver's salary and the salaries of the team's top three executives. There will be additional restrictions put in place dictating how prize money can be spent. The cap will only apply to expenditure related to car performance, which will remain in place until 2026.


Technical Regulation Changes

- Teams will be limited in what components can be modified for the 2021 season, with this requirement introduced to ease financial pressures on teams brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. The teams can apply for special dispensation to make changes, most notably in the case of McLaren who were given permission to modify their car to accommodate the switch from Renault to Mercedes engines. This prompted the FIA to introduce a token system whereby teams will be given a series of tokens which can be exchanged for the introduction of specific component upgrades.
- The floor of the cars will be 'clipped' in order to reduce downforce for 2021. In 2020 the floor was permitted to run in a straight line from an area adjacent to the cockpit back to a point ahead of the rear tyre. However, from 2021 that point ahead of the tyre will be moved 100 millimetres (3.9 in) inboard, making the floor edge a diagonal line when viewed from above. This change is expected to reduce downforce levels by 5%.
- Some slots on the edge of the floor will be removed, brake duct winglets will be narrowed by 40 millimetres (1.6 in) and diffuser fences will be narrowed by 50 millimetres (2.0 in). These three changes are expected to reduce downforce levels by a further 5%, meaning the 2021 regulations will see a total 10% reduction in downforce.
- The "dual-axis steering" system developed by Mercedes in 2020 is banned starting from 2021.


Sporting Regulation Changes

- Teams will be required to allow a driver who has competed in fewer than two Grands Prix to replace one of their race drivers in a Friday practice session over the course of the season.
- Following Mercedes' tyre error during the 2020 Sakhir Grand Prix, where George Russell was given front tyres allocated to Valtteri Bottas during a pit stop, the FIA has adjusted the rules on tyre usage; drivers using mixed compound sets or using sets allocated to another driver on their cars will be permitted to complete two laps before the driver must pit to correct the error before facing a penalty.
- The race time limit for red flagged races will also be reduced from 4 hours to 3 hours.


Race weekend structure

- Under the new regulations all of Thursday's events will be moved to the Friday morning with the times between Friday's activities being reduced. Cars will be under parc fermé conditions following the end of free practice three instead of qualifying, further restricting teams and drivers making major changes to setups ahead of the race. The length of the two Friday practice sessions will be cut from 90 minutes (as had been the case since the 2007 season) to 60 minutes.
- Teams will discuss and vote on the trialling of Saturday sprint races at some Grands Prix. The proposal states that qualifying for these sprint races would take place on Friday afternoon in place of the normal second free practice session and that the races would be approximately one third of a full Grand Prix distance with drivers in the top eight places receiving points and the total points allocation about half that of a full Grand Prix.


2021 Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix



Googlemaps Track location
https://goo.gl/maps/BAp3HdFhaB4dGoZ47

Bahrain International Circuit
Lap data
Lap length 5.412km (3.363 miles)
Race laps 57
Race distance 308.238km (191.53 miles)
Pole position Left-hand side of the track
Lap record* 1’31.447 (Pedro de la Rosa, 2005)
Fastest lap 1’27.866 (Charles Leclerc, 2019, qualifying three)
Maximum speed 329.6kph (204.804 mph)
Distance from grid to turn one 336.49m
Full throttle 72%
Longest flat-out section 1,205m
Downforce level Medium
Gear changes per lap 56
Fuel use per lap 1.7kg
Time penalty per lap of fuel 0.054s
Pit lane time loss 18.9s

UK Times
Friday 26th March 2021
Bahrain Grand Prix Free Practice 1: 14:30-16:00 (UK time: 11:30-13:00)
Bahrain Grand Prix Free Practice 2: 18:00-19:30 (UK time: 15:00-16:30)
Saturday 27th March 2021
Bahrain Grand Prix Free Practice 3: 15:00-16:00 (UK time: 12:00-13:00)
Bahrain Grand Prix Qualifying: 18:00 (UK time: 15:00)
Sunday 28th March 2021
Bahrain Grand Prix: 18:00 (UK time: 16:00)

Previous Winners
2010 Spain Fernando Alonso Ferrari Sakhir Endurance Circuit
2011 Cancelled
2012 Germany Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault Sakhir Grand Prix Circuit
2013 Germany Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault
2014 United Kingdom Lewis Hamilton Mercedes
2015 United Kingdom Lewis Hamilton Mercedes
2016 Germany Nico Rosberg Mercedes
2017 Germany Sebastian Vettel Ferrari
2018 Germany Sebastian Vettel Ferrari
2019 United Kingdom Lewis Hamilton Mercedes
2020 United Kingdom Lewis Hamilton Mercedes

Videos

Hamilton 2020

[durbster]

Now our boy's taking an interest in F1 (via gaming, just like me ), I might have to shell out to watch the races live for the first time in years.

All I ask is that somebody has caught the Mercs. If they're 0.5s up in Q3 then it's all over.

[Duke]

You beauty, thanks again Kev for doing these race announcements.

Love your positivity @Durbs but I suspect Merc will have sorted whatever gremlins they had assuming they weren't sandbagging to begin with.

But I do seriously hope some of the mid-field has closed the gap to them, especially RB. Rooting for Checa to give Max some stick as well.

Also go Dan & Lando, the comedy duo driving pair should be a crack up this season.

[Big Kev]

Durbs, sky usually do a special season deal but they're a bit late announcing it this year to be fair so maybe they won't.
NowTV is cheaper but SD only I think.

I don't think the F1 official TV feed is available in the UK as Sky have an exclusive broadcasting deal for another 2-3 years yet.

As for the season, I think Red Bull are a lot closer this time (wishful thinking). I also think McLaren are looking better again this year. Andreas Seidl has turned that team around and seeing Williams take on the head of VW motorsport makes me think they've recognised that's the way to go as wll with a good manager from another major motorsport franchise. I'd love to see Russell get some points for that team this year.

[durbster]

Yep, it's a right pain in the arse. The official F1TV isn't available in the UK so the only choice is Sky Sports, but you get the F1 channel on its own without the entire Sports package so it ends up being extortionate. No crowds plus VAR has sucked all my interest out of football and I'm loathe to pay for the entire Sky Sports package when I only watch one sport.

I signed up to the NowTV marketing list last week as apparently they usually put out an offer just before the season starts. Some people have had it and got the whole season for £20p/m. I've received nothing yet so am holding my nerve for now.
If nothing comes through I'll probably just pick certain races and do a combination of day and month passes to suit.

At least I have tickets to the British Grand Prix so if COVID allows it I should see at least one live race this year

[Big Kev]

Good job on the tickets. I'm going next year. A mate had his 50th last month and we're going next year when it should be easier to get tickets and the new cars will be out.

[r8response]

[Big Kev]

FP1 over.
Haas are plumb last. Alonso might be thinking he's backed the wrong horse, the Alpine's are barely quicker than the Williams. Looking good at the front though.

[durbster]

Hard to tell from radio commentary but it sounded like the Mercs were potentially quick but the car isn't as stable as usual. I know it's only FP1 so not a lot to go on but wouldn't it be great if the McLaren's were up there too.

I notice Perez is the now traditional 0.6s away from Max. Hopefully that is not a sign of things to come...

[Big Kev]

[Duke]

Wow how close is it, hope this is how it will be for the rest of the season...
I find these FP highlights good viewing if you can't afford to sit & watch the full sessions.

[r8response]

The swap to 1 hr practice sessions has been a definite improvement.

[Big Kev]

Yep. They were pretty much all out on track as soon as the light went green. No sitting around for 20 minutes while Williams go out and clean the track up. Much better.

[norbs]

Interesting results.

Sent from my SM-G781B using Tapatalk

[Big Kev]

[Duke]

Great Qual, could we finally have an epic challenge for the DWC...

I know it's only 1 Qual session but here's hoping.

[GT VIRUS]

F2 was again fantastic, and it looks like it'll be Australia v New Zealand for most of the year

[r8response]

At least Mazespin made it beyond the first corner...

[Big Kev]

https://whendidmazepinspin.com/

[norbs]

Good race.

Sent from my SM-G781B using Tapatalk

[Big Kev]

[norbs]

It was pretty frustrating that the Mercs were running wide from the start, thus gaining an advantage, and yet they just get told to stop doing it. Max does it at the end, and gets told to give the position back. And as usual, Lewis bitching about track limits after doing it for dozens of laps. But hey, they are out to get him.

I wonder how people are going to feel if Lando out performs Daniel this year? Hopefully he just needs more time in the car.

[w00dsy]

Ricciardo said he's still not confident with the brakes so I was surprised he out qualified Lando. He took a few races to really get the most out of the Renault too. Apart from the engine Lando is pretty much driving the car he's had for the last 2 years so he'll be well and truly settled in.

[norbs]

Certainly caught my attention when the team told DR to brake later.

[DarrenM]

Was an exciting finish. I thought Max would have been able to get him on a 2nd attempt but maybe he roasted his tyres on the first one.

Still a massive gap between Merc/Red Bull and everyone else

Wish they would do away with these stupid corner specific rules. Enforcing the white line rule everywhere should cover it, which says they're supposed to make a reasonable effort to stay inside the lines. Do it in qual you get your time deleted, do it in race you get warnings/black flag.