Can Red Bull assert their dominance once again as F1 returns to Bahrain for the opening round of the 2021 season

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Due to the postponement of the Australian Grand Prix, the F1 season opener takes place at the Bahrain International Circuit and is set to be a fascinating race.

Eleven years on, this will be the first time the opening round has been held at night, where the circuit’s floodlights will act as the spotlight for the box office entertainment of Formula One.

The Bahrain International Circuit offers a wide range of challenging corners for the drivers, in twisty slalom sections; long, fast sweepers as well as hard braking zones at the end of the three long straights.

Sir Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel are the most successful drivers at the Bahrain Grand Prix, clocking up four victories each.

The most successful team in Bahrain is Ferrari, who have achieved six victories to date. The Maranello outfit steered Michael Schumacher to win the very first race held at the circuit in 2004.

The previous time F1 raced here was for the Bahrain and Sakhir doubleheader which was held in early December.

In the eventful 2020 Bahrain Grand Prix, Hamilton was victorious ahead of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and his teammate Alex Albon taking his second podium in the sport.

On the opening lap of the race, we saw the horrifying accident involving Haas driver Romain Grosjean. Thankfully, the Frenchman escaped his car which split the armco crash barrier and was engulfed in a huge fireball.

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The following week, at the Sakhir Grand Prix, which used the outer configuration of the circuit, there was another incident on the opening lap. In a desperate attempt to make up positions at the start, Charles Leclerc dived up the inside of Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez, wiping out the Dutchman and sending the Mexican into a pirouette.

Perez pitted at the end of the lap, switching to an alternative strategy to try and make up the time lost from his spin.

Thanks to several safety cars, the Mexican was able to make up ground and come home to win the inaugural Sakhir Grand Prix, ahead of first-time podium finisher Esteban Ocon and Lance Stroll.

Top 10 Prediction

1. Max Verstappen

Taking victory in this season’s opening round will be Red Bull’s Max Verstappen. The Dutchman has shown promising pace in pre-season and his car looks like it ticks all the boxes to be a Championship contender this season.

2. Lewis Hamilton

Coming home in second is the reigning champion, Lewis Hamilton. Whilst the Mercedes machinery struggled for front-running pace over the course of pre-season testing, the seven-time champion has an impressive record at the Bahrain International Circuit and will hope to kick start his charge for his eighth F1 title this weekend.

3. Sergio Perez

A driver who showed promising pace at last year’s Bahrain doubleheader and winner of the Sakhir Grand Prix, Sergio Perez will kick start his Red Bull career with a podium. The Mexican would have stood on the rostrum twice over the two races held at the circuit last year if not for an anguishing retirement with three laps to go of the Bahrain round due to an engine failure, which robbed him of third place.

4. Daniel Ricciardo

Another driver who impressed over the course of pre-season testing is McLaren new boy Daniel Ricciardo. The Australian adjusted to the McLaren car over the winter pre-season testing and his brilliant pace puts him in good stead to have a solid first round.

5. Valtteri Bottas

Potentially the surprise package of 2021, the Finn may not achieve the results that he’d have hoped coming into the season. Bottas will post consistent times throughout the race but not fast enough to be in the battle for the last step on the podium.

6. Lance Stroll

Finishing sixth is Lance Stroll. The new Aston Martin car’s true race pace is still unknown but the display in pre-season testing shows it could be at the front of the midfield battle. The Canadian is a great racer and doesn’t back down lightly which he showed on many occasions in 2020 and will one to watch this year.

7. Lando Norris

Another driver with the potential to have a good race weekend. The Brit will be at the front of the midfield battle and should be happy with his showing this weekend, however, he will be no match for the pace of his teammate Daniel Ricciardo.

8. Esteban Ocon

It will be interesting to see how Alpine take to the Formula One stage with Ocon at the wheel, who we know is a great racer. The Frenchman will have a successful race weekend and in Alpine’s F1 debut the team will be ecstatic with a point’s finish.

9. Sebastian Vettel

The German could take a while to adjust to the Aston Martin car, but overall, he’ll be happy to be in front of his former team. Vettel still has plenty to prove in F1, not forgetting he has a fantastic record at the circuit, which will see a double point’s finish for Aston Martin in their Formula One debut.

10. Charles Leclerc

Unfortunately for Ferrari and Leclerc, their struggles for front-running pace will continue this year. There is no doubt that Leclerc is a great racer, but the poor pace of the Scuderia will limit how much he can challenge this year. The Monegasque driver won’t have happy memories of the Bahrain Grand Prix.

In 2019 a heart-breaking mechanical fault dropped him from a comfortable lead in the race down to third – snatching away his first F1 win.

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