Formula 1 starts its triple-header finale of the reshuffled 2020 calendar with the Bahrain Grand Prix at the Bahrain International Circuit.
After Lewis Hamilton wrapped up the F1 world drivers’ title in Turkey, sealing a record-equalling seventh crown to match Michael Schumacher’s all-time record, focus will turn to the rest of the grid and the fight for the ‘best of the rest’ championship places.
Valtteri Bottas will be aiming to bounce back from a “disaster” Turkish GP where he picked up damage on the opening lap and spun six times during the race to finish one lap down in 14th place and duly conceded the title to Hamilton.
While Max Verstappen didn’t fully profit from Bottas’s poor race, as the Red Bull driver also spun in the race and finished in sixth place, the Dutch driver did close the deficit to 27 points in the fight for second place in the drivers’ standings.
Further back Sergio Perez’s first podium of the season at Istanbul Park launched him into fourth place in the standings, three points clear of Charles Leclerc, with Daniel Ricciardo a further point back in sixth place.
The battle for third place in the F1 world constructors’ standings is also heating up, with Racing Point currently holding that spot by five points from McLaren, with Renault slipping back to 18 points off Racing Point.
Thanks to a strong points haul in Turkey, including Sebastian Vettel’s first podium of the year, Ferrari remain in sixth in the standings but closed up to 24 points behind Racing Point ahead of the triple-header finish to the 2020 campaign.
Will fans be allowed at the Bahrain GP?
Earlier this month, race organisers confirmed its two races would be run “predominately” without spectators, with the circuit only open to frontline health workers.
The Bahrain International Circuit hosts the Bahrain GP (29 November) and Sakhir GP (6 December) and neither races will be open to fans that don’t fall under the special category as part of the nation’s COVID-19 containment measures.
2020 Formula 1 Bahrain GP session timings
F1 is sticking to its traditional format of two free practice sessions lasting 90 minutes each on Friday, followed by an additional practice session running for one hour on Saturday.
The Q1, Q2 and Q3 knockout-style qualifying format is also being retained on Saturday afternoon to decide the grid for the 58-lap Turkish GP on Sunday.
Friday 27th November 2020
Free Practice 1: 11:00am-12:30pm GMT (2:00pm-3:30pm local)
Free Practice 2: 3:00pm-4:30pm GMT (6:00pm-7:30pm local)
Saturday 28th November 2020
Free Practice 3: 11:00am-12:00pm GMT (2:00pm-3:00pm local)
Qualifying: 2:00pm-3:00pm GMT (5:00pm-6:00pm local)
Sunday 29th November 2020
Race: 2:10pm GMT (5:10pm local)
How can I watch the Bahrain GP?
Channel: Sky Sports F1 HD
Channel numbers – Sky: 406
Channel numbers – Virgin Media: 506 (Sky Sports F1 HD)
Sky Sports has live and exclusive broadcasting rights in the United Kingdom with the build-up to the F1 race starting from 12:30pm ahead of lights out at 2:10pm.
When can I watch the highlights?
Channel: Channel 4
Start time: Saturday qualifying 7:00pm, Sunday race 9:00pm
Channel 4 has the rights to show Bahrain GP highlights of qualifying on Saturday and the race on Sunday.
Weather forecast for the Bahrain GP
The Bahrain International Circuit is set for sunny conditions for the race weekend, with a high chance of cloud cover for all three days of track action, but a minimal chance of rain. Across the weekend highs of 27 degrees Celsius are forecast – around 14 degrees hotter than the recent Emilia Romagna GP and Turkish GP.
Pirelli tyre allocation for the Bahrain GP
Pirelli has opted for its middle range of compounds for the Bahrain GP, with the hard tyre C2, medium tyre C3 and soft tyre C4.
For all of the races in the reshuffled 2020 F1 season each driver will be given the same allocation of tyres per race. Each driver will get eight sets of softs, three sets of mediums and two sets of hards. Pirelli will also supply a range of wet and intermediate tyres for each driver.
Most F1 Bahrain GP wins
Sebastian Vettel: 4 wins (2012, 2013, 2017, 2018)
Lewis Hamilton: 3 wins (2014, 2015, 2019)
Fernando Alonso: 3 wins (2005, 2006, 2010)
Felipe Massa: 2 wins (2007, 2008)
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