It's just over eight thousand kilometres as the crow flies between the scenes of the third and fourth rounds of the 2025 season. From Japan and the historic Suzuka track surrounded by cherry blossom, Formula 1 is now setting up shop in the semi-desert archipelago of Bahrain in the Persian Gulf.

A significant difference, especially in terms of temperature, given that it will go from a maximum of under 20°C and the rainy conditions of last Sunday morning to predicted highs of around 30 °C for this coming weekend.

In fact, temperature will be a very important variable when it comes to tyre management at the fourth race of the year. As was the case in Suzuka, the teams will have a choice of the three hardest compounds in Pirelli's 2025 range, namely the C1 as Hard, the C2 as Medium and the C3 as Soft. However, the Sakhir track characteristics and indeed the temperatures, will require a different approach to that adopted last week in Japan.

In fact, all the teams will have a good baseline from which to start work, given that in the last week of February, the Sakhir circuit hosted the only pre-season test as per the 2025 sporting regulations. It means that everyone will have plenty of data to work with when it comes to setting up the cars and choosing the best strategies for qualifying and the race.

Over 24 hours of track time, the 20 drivers racked up 3,897 laps, equivalent to 21,090.564 kilometres and the tyres to be used this weekend did the most work back then: the C3 did the lion's share, completing 67.17% of the laps, followed by the C2 (20.88%) and the C1 (9.26%). There were a measly 104 laps run on the C4 and three on the Intermediate. However, this weekend's temperatures will present a new challenge, because during the test week, Sakhir saw unusual weather with strong winds leading to much cooler air and track temperatures than is normal at that time of year.

The minimum start pressures for this weekend have changed based on analysis of the test data, to 23 psi on the front and 21 at the rear. That represents an increase of +1 on the front axle and +2 on the rear compared to the 2024 race and of 0.5 psi on both axles compared to February's test.

If there's one Grand Prix where a two-stop strategy would seem to be a given, then it's Bahrain and that was the case last year, when it was the opening round of the season. All drivers made at least two stops, while some, like Hulkenberg (Haas) through force of circumstance, others by choice, Gasly (Alpine) and Sargeant (Williams) even stopped three times. Soft and Hard were the preferred compounds, with the vast majority opting to start on the C3 before making the most of the two sets of C1 they had saved specifically for the race. The exceptions were the Red Bull duo of Verstappen and Perez, who did the final stint on a set of C3s, down to the Milton Keynes team's technical superiority at the time, underlined by the fact they finished first and second. Their Racing Bulls sister team tried the same thing with Ricciardo, but he finished outside the top ten.

Based on what we have seen in winter testing and over the opening three rounds, it could be a different scenario because of modifications made to the compounds for 2025. While the C1 is pretty similar to its predecessor, the C2 and C3 are softer and most significantly, the three compounds have a better spread in terms of their performance delta. This could therefore bring the C2 back into play as a race tyre, thus creating more strategy choices for Sunday, with even a one-stop becoming a realistic possibility. Much will depend on how hotter it will be compared to the test, so the three hours of free practice will be very important, especially FP2, which takes place at a similar time of day to the early part of the race.

The Sakhir circuit boasts several layouts, with two different ones used for the races in 2010 and 2020, but the current one is 5.412 kilometres in length and features 15 corners, 9 to the right and 6 to the left. The track is one of the toughest on the calendar when it comes to tyres, especially in the braking areas and when traction is required. The aggregate used for the asphalt at the Bahrain International Circuit is still very abrasive, despite it being quite old now. The surface provides good grip for the tyres, although sand blown onto the track can be a nuisance. Wear is not usually a limiting factor, neither is graining, but thermal degradation, especially across the rear axle, has a significant impact on tyre performance. Managing that is the key to getting a good result. Overtaking is possible, especially under heavy braking at turns 1, 4 and 11.

Keyword: Degradation

There are two types of degradation, one that affects the tyre surface and the other that impacts the chemical bonding of the materials that make up the tread.

The first, which we simply call overheating, is generated when the tyre surface slides excessively on the track. In this case, the surface temperature increases and the tyre loses grip. The phenomenon can be reversed by a change of driving style or if the weather conditions change.

As for thermal degradation, that occurs when the amount of energy exerted on the tyre is high enough to generate heat capable of altering the chemical bonds of the tread and in this case, the loss of grip is irreversible.

These two phenomena are not entirely independent of one another.

Both types of degradation lead to a loss of tyre performance and if a driver sees his is greater than that experienced by other drivers close by, then it might be time to change tyres for a new or part-worn set. The original set has come to the end of its performance life in terms of how many laps it can run before it should be changed as the tyres can no longer deliver a competitive level of performance. Wear life is the maximum number of laps that a tyre can cover before the tread surface has completely worn away.

There have been 20 editions of the Bahrain Grand Prix, the first dating back to 2004, won by Michael Schumacher in a Ferrari. It was the very first Formula 1 World Championship race to be held in the Middle East. In 2020, Bahrain hosted two races on consecutive weekends, the first on a shorter 3.534 kilometre track with just 11 corners, which was called the Sakhir Grand Prix. As previously mentioned, the 2010 race was run over a 6.229 kilometre layout.

The most successful driver in Bahrain is Lewis Hamilton with five wins. Of the drivers racing this year, Fernando Alonso has won 3, Max Verstappen (2) and Charles Leclerc (1). Sebastian Vettel, Hamilton and Verstappen all share the record for pole positions with three, while the English driver on 11, has the most podium finishes to his name. Of the teams, Ferrari leads the way with seven wins, and podium finishes (17), while Mercedes on seven has the most pole positions.