Following immediately from Japan, the good news is there were no issues with team equipment reaching the circuit, and the large run-off areas at Sakhir mean there shouldn’t be a problem with trackside fires. However, the big news is that Robert Reid, FIA Deputy President for Sport, resigned and said “principles have been increasingly set aside”; he’s not the first notable departure due to the way MBS is running the FIA.
Free Practice
- FP1: NOR (1:33.204), GAS, HAM, ALB, OCO
Aston Martin, Ferrari, Haas, Mercedes, Red Bull and Williams each put their reserve driver in for FP1
ALB made a late move to the inside of a corner and caused his rookie partner to take avoiding action
Recently promoted TSU missed his new team’s pit box
ANT only managed three laps due to a problem with his Mercedes - FP2: PIA (1:30.505), NOR, RUS, LEC, ANT
LEC locked up on his out lap
ALO had a moment when his steering wheel came off as he approached a corner, but the veteran just calmly reported the problem
Both McLarens ran wide in Turn 1, and RUS had to spin around after going very deep in T10 - FP3: PIA (1:31.646), NOR, LEC, RUS, ANT
LEC’s wing mirror fell of as his Ferrari rumbled over a kerb
RUS had another big lockup, ran wide and then spun
OCO complained of bouncing in his Haas
HUL’s Sauber went into anti-stall, leaving him parked off the road
Qualifying
Air temperature 26°C; track 31°C; humidity 59%
(Reminder: this is an evening race, run under floodlights)
Qualifying session 1 (Q1)
HUL 1:32.810
ALO 1:32.362
Haas engineers are busy adjusting OCO’s seat
STR … his time is deleted
TSU 1:32.096
VER has a big lockup, runs wide, abandons his lap, and of course blames it on the car
DOO 1:31.919
TSU’s lap time is deleted
LEC 1:31.454
PIA 1:31.392
NOR 1:31.107
5mins left; bottom 5 are STR, HAD, BOR, VER, TSU
Even PIA and NOR are on track – in fact only LEC remains in the pits
BOR P12, ALB P16
STR P14, BEA P16
(ANT P3)
(DOO P3)
Chequered flag; bottom 5 are BEA, LAW, ALB, VER, TSU
LAW P4, STR P16
VER P3, BOR P16
TSU P11, LAW P16
ALB P14, HUL P16
BEA P20
Back of the grid: ALB, LAW, BOR, STR, BEA
Radio for LAW discussing issues with the DRS closing itself early, halfway along the main straight
Qualifying session 2
Yellow flag – OCO is in the gravel – looks like he’s hit the wall
Red flag
There’s a lot of damage to the Haas but he’s getting himself out
Replay shows OCO lost the tail under acceleration, fights to regain control but crosses the track and hits the tyre wall backwards
That’s quite close to Grosjean’s massive accident five years ago, albeit on the other side of the track – that might have caused some flashbacks in the Haas garage
The medical car is in the pit lane but cars are being released from the garages to wait at pit out
Green light; Q2 resumes
ANT & RUS have been noted for leaving their garage before they were permitted
ANT 1:31.178
VER aborts his lap
NOR 1:30.560
PIA 1:30.454
5mins left; bottom 5 are VER, HAD, OCO, ALO, TSU
(ANT P3)
Chequered flag; bottom 5 are SAI, DOO, HUL, ALO, OCO
SAI P6, HAD P11
HUL P13
DOO P11
Middle of the grid: DOO, HAD, HUL, ALO, OCO
Top 10 shootout is between PIA, NOR, GAS, RUS, ANT, LEC, SAI, HAM, VER, TSU
Qualifying session 3
A few of them going out on used soft tyres
TSU 1:31.637
VER P2
ANT 1:31.494
SAI P3
RUS 1:30.364
GAS P4
HAM P2
LEC P2
PIA 1:30.233
NOR P3
Order after the first run: PIA, RUS, NOR, LEC, HAM, ANT, TSU, GAS, SAI, VER
HUL’s Q2 lap time has been deleted! That’ll promote OCO to P14
ANT’s Q3 lap time deleted, and so is HAM’s
Chequered flag; order is PIA, RUS, NOR, TSU, LEC, GAS, SAI, VER, ANT, HAM
ANT 1:30.213
RUS 1:30.009
HAM P5
LEC P2
GAS P4
VER P7
PIA 1:29.841
NOR P6
SAI P8
Front of the grid: PIA, RUS, LEC, ANT, GAS, NOR, VER, SAI, HAM, TSU
Provisional grid: PIA, RUS, LEC, ANT, GAS, NOR, VER, SAI, HAM, TSU, DOO, HAD, ALO, OCO, ALB, HUL*, LAW, BOR, STR, BEA
*I thought HUL’s Q2 lap time was deleted during Q3, but it was actually his Q1 time – that’s very odd! The FIA timing chart suggests he’s dropped to P16
Penalties
Reviewing the FIA’s official documents, there have been 3 penalties since Quali:
- Confirmation that HUL will start P16 after his Q1 lap time was deleted
- ANT and RUS were each given a 1-place grid penalty “Entering fast lane in the pit lane before a re-start time was confirmed” so they’ll start P5 and P3 respectively
Race
Air temperature 27°C; track 32°C; humidity 44% – temps will fall during the evening race
Grid: PIA, LEC, RUS, GAS, ANT, NOR, VER, SAI, HAM, TSU, DOO, HAD, ALO, OCO, ALB, HUL, LAW, BOR, STR, BEA
Most are starting on soft tyres, except LEC, HAM, ALO, LAW and BOR on mediums
PIA leads everyone away on the formation lap
01/57: RUS is past LEC and challenging PIA into Turn 1
ANT cuts a turn and SAI takes P5
NOR P3
02: PIA, RUS, NOR, LEC, GAS, SAI, ANT, VER, HAM, TSU
BEA is up to P15
DRS enabled
03: ALB takes P13 from ALO
NOR noted for potential false start – that’ll probably be a 5- or 10-sec penalty
04: Radio from HAM reporting “Grip is quite poor on this tyre”
05/57: PIA, RUS, NOR, LEC, GAS, SAI, ANT, VER, HAM, TSU, DOO, OCO, ALB, ALO, BEA, HAD, LAW, STR, BOR, HUL
ANT inside SAI to take P6
VER is at least partly off the track as he forces his way past SAI, and then VER is on the radio complaining that SAI didn’t leave him space (because he always does that)
06: Replay of the start shows NOR slightly ahead of the mark, and VER on the radio reporting him
07: HAD pits; mediums go on
NOR is given a 5-sec penalty for the false start, which he’ll have to serve when he pits
08: Radio for NOR telling him about the penalty and suggesting he passes RUS soon
09: HAM inside SAI for P8 but the Williams reclaims the place
HAM attacks again; HAM and TSU both pass SAI
10/57: PIA, RUS, NOR*, LEC, GAS, ANT, VER, HAM, TSU, SAI
ANT takes P5 from GAS
VER all over GAS’ rear wing
11: NOR pits from P3; serves his 5-sec penalty; mediums go on; rejoins P13
VER pits; hard tyres go on – looks like the stop was done but the indicator light was still red
12: TSU pits; mediums; he also had a problem with the indicator light
NOR takes P12 from BOR
13: ANT pits; mediums; P15
STR pits; that moves NOR up too
14: RUS pits; mediums; P7
15/57: PIA pits; mediums; P3
Only ALB still on softs
16: LEC, HAM, PIA, RUS, ALB, NOR, GAS, ALO, OCO, VER
17: ALB pits; only LEC and HAM have yet to stop
BEA noted for potential unsafe release
Radio for LEC telling him to pit but he wants a different strategy
18: LEC pits, followed by teammate HAM; both on mediums; rejoin P5 and P11
Radio from VER saying he’s struggling for grip on the hards
Replay of BEA’s release; looks ok to me; yup, no further action
19: LEC takes P4 from GAS
20/57: PIA, RUS, NOR, LEC, GAS, OCO, VER, ANT, DOO, HAM, TSU, SAI, HAD, BEA, HUL, ALB, ALO, STR, LAW, BOR
ANT attacks VER; VER makes it difficult but ANT takes P7
21: Radio from VER, “Everything is overheating”
DOO now has DRS behind VER, but HAM has DRS behind DOO
22: HAM takes P9 from DOO
23: HAM past VER to take P8
Black and white flags for HAD and ANT for exceeding track limits
LEC closing on NOR
24: LEC dives inside NOR but NOR reclaims P3
25/57: PIA, RUS, NOR, LEC, GAS, OCO, ANT, HAM, VER, DOO, TSU, SAI, BEA, ALB, HAD, HUL, ALO, STR, LAW, BOR
LEC attacks again; takes P3 from NOR
HAM takes P7 from ANT
26: HAM takes P6 from OCO
NOR seems to be losing speed behind LEC
27: VER pits from P9; front right slow coming off; mediums; P20
28: OCO and ANT pit; OCO goes onto hards but ANT onto softs; rejoin P14 and P16
29: Radio from NOR asking why his right red light is on; investigating
30/57: PIA, RUS, LEC, NOR, HAM, TSU, SAI, ALB, BEA, GAS
SAI steals P6 from TSU but there’s debris flying off the Williams
31: ANT takes P12 from ALO
32: Safety Car deployed because of the debris on the track
33[SC]: Front runners all pit
PIA on mediums; RUS softs; LEC hards; NOR mediums; HAM hards; GAS hards; OCO hards; VER mediums; DOO hards; SAI hards
34[SC]: Incident involving TSU and SAI noted for a collision
35/57[SC]: PIA, RUS, LEC, NOR, HAM, GAS, OCO, VER, DOO, SAI, TSU, BEA, ALB, ANT, ALO, HAD, HUL, LAW, STR, BOR
SC in at the end of this lap
36: HAM takes P4 from NOR into Turn 1
NOR reclaims P4 but HAM thinks NOR was off the track
SAI locks up diving inside ANT
37: Radio for NOR, “give back the position”
NOR lets HAM take P4
FIA timing shows RUS tumbling to P20 but that’s a transponder problem
38: NOR around HAM for P4
Radio from HAM, “This (hard) tyre sucks”
39: BEA lunges at TSU but they avoid contact
ANT takes P12 from ALB
40/57: PIA, RUS, LEC, NOR, HAM, GAS, VER, OCO, DOO, TSU
42: LAW given 5-sec penalty for causing a collision with HUL
44: SAI given 10-sec penalty for forcing ANT off the track
There’s a big hole in SAI’s right sidepod
45/57: PIA, RUS, LEC, NOR, HAM, GAS, VER, OCO, DOO, TSU, BEA, ANT, ALB, LAW*, HUL, SAI*, HAD, ALO, STR, BOR (*=penalties)
Radio for RUS telling him there’s an issue with the DRS
46: LEC looks vulnerable but NOR locks up
Radio for SAI, “box to retire the car”
47: SAI pits; he’s pushed into the garage … but if he didn’t serve his 10-sec penalty, that’ll be carried over to the next race
48: NOR has DRS behind LEC again
Black and white flag for DOO for exceeding track limits
49: NOR around the outside of LEC but NOR is run wide
50/57: PIA, RUS, LEC, NOR, HAM, GAS, VER, OCO, TSU, BEA
Radio for RUS warning him that the dash (display) might go off!
51: NOR closing on LEC again
52: NOR around the outside of LEC to take P3
RUS has been noted for using DRS incorrectly – it’ll be investigated after the race
Apparently LEC has a DRS issue too
53: Black and white flag for NOR for exceeding track limits
If RUS’ transponder isn’t working properly, will NOR’s DRS work if they can’t tell when he’s under 1sec behind RUS?
54: LAW given 10-sec penalty for causing a collision
55/57: PIA, RUS, NOR, LEC, HAM, GAS, VER, OCO, TSU, BEA
Black and white flag for TSU for exceeding track limits
Radio for NOR telling him to only use DRS when he’s definitely within 1-sec
56: NOR is right on RUS’ tail
RUS defends P2 with 20-odd lap old soft tyres
57/57: NOR looks at the outside of RUS into Turn 1 but RUS defends
PIA takes the chequered flag
RUS hangs onto P2
Provisional result: PIA, RUS, NOR, LEC, HAM, VER, GAS, OCO, TSU, BEA; ANT, ALB, DOO*, HUL, HAD, ALO, LAW*, STR, BOR (*time penalties to be applied)
DNF: SAI
But there’s more investigations and possible penalties to come…
Applying the time penalties:
LAW had a 5-sec and a 10-sec penalty, each for causing collisions, but he remains P17
DOO had a 5-sec penalty for exceeding track limits and drops to P15
SAI had a 10-sec penalty for forcing ANT off the track, but because he didn’t serve it in this race he’ll have a 3-place grid penalty for his next race (Saudi Arabia, next weekend)
Other penalties:
RUS did not receive a penalty for using the DRS system when more than 1 second from the car in front
HUL has been disqualified because the thickness of the plank assembly was below the permitted minimum thickness; he finished P14 (moved up to P13 due to DOO’s penalty) so everyone from HAD down moves up one place
FIA have published the Final Race Classification so I guess they’ve run out of penalties
PIA, RUS, NOR, LEC, HAM, VER, GAS, OCO, TSU, BEA; ANT, ALB, HAD, DOO, ALO, LAW, STR, BOR
DNF: SAI
DSQ: HUL
[2025 calendar and driver line-up]
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