For Haas, Bahrain will be the first real barometer of the season

The American team left Sakhir last February with a good impression. The two VF-25s were certainly languishing at the back of the standings, but without having used the softest tires in Pirelli's range. It was therefore legitimate to think that by focusing solely on race pace, Haas could turn out to be a good surprise on the tour launched from Melbourne. However, the car black, white and red was the slowest on the grid in Australia, and the return to grace ofEsteban Ocon and Oliver Bearman, who scored a total of fifteen points over the following two weekends, was a surprise to both observers and the team.

For Ayao Komatsu, Team Principal of the team, this return to Bahrain after three Grands Prix is ​​a positive development. It allows the teams to improve their understanding of their cars in different conditions. They therefore arrive with sharper tools on a circuit where the first laps served mainly as a discovery after long months spent in design, in the wind tunnel, and on the simulator.

“We are returning to Bahrain, where pre-season testing is taking place, and even though our last visit here was only five weeks ago, a lot has happened during that time, as always in Formula 1We had our lowest point in Australia, followed by a double points finish in Shanghai and a tenth place at Suzuka. I think we come back here with a much better understanding of the car, and indeed as the better team. I'm looking forward to seeing how the new parts we brought to Suzuka perform here. The Sakhir circuit always provides an exciting night race with plenty of overtaking, so we're looking forward to continuing our strong performance from last weekend."

Ocon and the memory of the first podium in F1

Having struggled all weekend at Suzuka, Esteban Ocon is looking forward to this fourth round of the season. It was in Bahrain, at the 2020 Sakhir Grand Prix, that the Frenchman finished on the podium in F1 for the first time. It's a chance to revive fond memories and hopefully create new ones, on a track that is well-known to all the teams, having become, in a way, the official Formula 1 test circuit in recent years.

“Bahrain is a special place for me. First of all, it’s kind of where F1 is at home, since we come for private tests. I got my first podium there, which will always bring back memories when I go there. It’s a circuit that I like, it has very particular characteristics compared to other circuits; the degradation is very high, everyone knows the track inside out, and it’s a test for us drivers, physically with the heat, but also with the cars. We generally know what to expect, but it will be an interesting test for us to go back there after testing and see what our true performance is.”

Despite his six F1 Grands Prix, Oliver Bearman had never had the opportunity to return to racing on a circuit he had driven on before. That will be the case this weekend, as well as the following one in Saudi Arabia, where he made his FXNUMX debut. Ferrari in 2024, replacing Carlos Sainz. "I'm very excited to be returning to Bahrain. It's the first circuit I've been back to in Formula 1 after the pre-season tests which took place over a month ago now. It's going to be a good weekend, and the first night race of the season will be fun. Hopefully it's going to be a good second in a hat-trick of consecutive races."

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