Hot track and windy weather await drivers in Bahrain

Early reports suggested a slight risk of storms during the upcoming Bahrain Grand Prix weekend.

For obvious reasons the desert track has never seen a rain-affected session during the 15 years since it joined the F1 calendar. However that doesn’t rule it out completely – after all, last year’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix saw a few raindrops during the season half of the race.

Will it rain during this year’s Bahrain Grand Prix? The chance is very low indeed. A slightly risk of rain is forceast during the middle of the day in Sunday, but by the time the race starts at 6:10pm that threat of precipitation will fall to almost zero.

As first practice and final practice start in daylight – at 2pm and 3pm respectively – track conditions during these sessions tend to be significantly warmer than the drivers experience during the key competitive sessions. Last year the track was more than 10C hotter in first practice than it was in the race.

Friday’s second practice session will be more useful in this respect, however teams will be aware that Sunday is expected to be a few degrees hotter, which they will have to factor in when looking at their race simulation runs.

Sunday will be a largely cloudless day, with air temperatures hitting 27C and track temperatures likely to be over 30C. However drivers will also have to contend with a stiffer breeze on Sunday, which could upset the balance of the cars in Bahrain’s many heavy braking zones.

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For more updates on the track conditions during each session keep an eye on RaceFans Live and the RaceFans Twitter account.

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