F1: Bahrain Grand Prix Preview and Betting Tips

The second Grand Prix of a triple-header is a night race at the Bahrain International Circuit.
Max Verstappen showed his class at Suzuka last weekend to put the unfancied RB21 on pole and beat the two faster McLarens in the race at the Japanese GP. The Dutchman became the third different GP winner in as many races this season and trails Lando Norris by one point in the drivers’ standings.

Norris and teammate Oscar Piastri will look to assert their pace advantage over their rivals at the Bahrain GP this weekend.

The Track

The 5.4km long track is rapid and features three DRS zones with 15 turns, nine to the right and six to the left. It’s known for producing many overtakes, and there have been several great tussles in the past between drivers. Keep an eye on turns one, four, and 11 as we could see jostling for positions here under heavy braking. Over 70% of the lap is taken at full throttle and the longest flat-out section is over 1.2km.

The tyre choices for this weekend are Pirelli’s three hardest compounds: the C1 as Hard, the C2 as Medium, and the C3 as Soft. The Sakhir Circuit’s characteristics make room for a two-stop strategy, and last year some drivers even stopped three times. The teams are familiar with the circuit as it hosted pre-season testing a few weeks ago.

Ferrari brings a big upgrade to Bahrain and can Max win again?

The big talk from last weekend’s race was Verstappen’s incredible pole lap. The four-time champion is the only driver to produce good lap times in the RB21 after Yuki Tsunoda was out-qualified by the man he replaced, Liam Lawson, in Japan.

Verstappen led a Red Bull 1-2 in Bahrain last year, and if he is in sync with the car like he was last weekend, another pole and race win is on the cards.

Ferrari hasn’t performed as well as they would have liked so far this season. Lewis Hamilton won the Sprint Race in China, but apart from that the Italians have not worried the front runners. The team announced a performance upgrade for this weekend’s race with most of the changes to the SF-25’s floor. “This floor package features updated front floor fences targeting an improvement of the losses traveling downstream,” the team said. Ferrari has lacked overall pace and Hamilton admitted he struggled to drive the car in rainy conditions in Australia. Both he and Charles Leclerc will hope the changes propel them into contention this weekend.

Norris and Piastri know that starting on pole is key to a great shot at winning the race, and the Woking-based team can try different strategies to try and unsettle Verstappen if he puts in another world-class performance.

Look out for Williams, Racing Bulls, and Haas as the midfield battle intensifies this weekend under the lights.

Predictions

Grand Prix Winner: Max Verstappen
Grand Prix podium: Verstappen, Norris, Piastri
Pole position: Verstappen
Top 4 and 5: Leclerc, Hamilton
Race Winning Margin: Under 5 seconds
Fastest lap: Norris
First to retire: Jack Doohan
First car to retire: Alpine
Most Team Points: McLaren
Both Cars Qualify for Q3 Shootout: Haas
Practice 1/2/3 Winning Car: Norris/ McLaren
Safety Car: No
Fastest pit stop: Ferrari