2020 Sakhir Grand Prix

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2020 Sakhir Grand Prix
Race 16 of 17[a] in the 2020 Formula One World Championship
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Bahrain International Circuit--Outer Circuit.svg
Race details[1]
Date 6 December 2020
Official name Formula 1 Rolex Sakhir Grand Prix 2020
Location Bahrain International Circuit, Sakhir, Bahrain
Course Permanent racing facility
Course length 3.543 km (2.202 miles)
Distance 87 laps, 307.995 km (191.379 miles)
Attendance 0[b]
Pole position
Driver
Mercedes
Time 0:53.377
Fastest lap
Driver United Kingdom George Russell Mercedes
Time 0:55.404 on lap 80 (lap record)
Podium
First
Racing Point-BWT Mercedes
Second
Renault
Third
Racing Point-BWT Mercedes
Lap leaders

The 2020 Sakhir Grand Prix (officially known as the Formula 1 Rolex Sakhir Grand Prix 2020) was a Formula One motor race that took place over 87 laps on 6 December 2020 on the 'Outer Circuit' configuration at the Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir, Bahrain. It was the first Formula One race on this track configuration. The race was the sixteenth and penultimate round in the 2020 Formula One World Championship and the second of two back-to-back races in Bahrain, with the Bahrain Grand Prix having taken place at the same venue the week before, on a different layout. The race also marks the first running of the Sakhir Grand Prix.

The race was won by Sergio Pérez of Racing Point-BWT Mercedes, who took his first Formula One win and became the first Mexican Formula One driver to win a race since Pedro Rodríguez won the 1970 Belgian Grand Prix. Racing Point became the first British constructor since McLaren at the 2012 Brazilian Grand Prix, to win a race. George Russell, who was subbing for a COVID infected Hamilton at Mercedes AMG, led most of the race having taken control from pole sitter Bottas at the start. During a late safety car period Mercedes decided to completely shift Russell on not only his first win, but his first points finish as well by bringing him for a pit stop even though everybody behind was on older tires and Russell was much faster. As a consequence of their late call the team fitted tires belonging to his teammate, Russell had to pit again to receive his correct tires dropping him from 1st to 5th. After the safety car period he worked his way back up to 2nd and was catching Perez before Mercedes activated the self destruct button on his tires causing a puncture to the right rear as they could not have the substitute driver beating Hamilton's wingman on his debut race.

Background

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic

See also: 2020 Formula One World Championship § Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, and COVID-19 pandemic in Bahrain

Most of the races originally planned for the 2020 championship were postponed or cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The FIA drafted a new schedule in order to maximise the number of races on the calendar. In August 2020 the Sakhir Grand Prix was added to the schedule. It is due to be held on 6 December 2020, one week after the Bahrain Grand Prix was held at the same venue.[2] The Grand Prix will officially be held behind closed doors, but authorities did give guest passes to local health workers and their families to attend in recognition of their efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic in Bahrain.[3]

Circuit layout

This race will use the 'Outer Circuit' layout, the first Formula One race to be held on this layout. At 3.543 km (2.202 mi) it is shorter than the 5.412 km (3.363 mi) 'Grand Prix' layout, which was used for the Bahrain Grand Prix the week prior.[4] The race is due to be contested over 87 laps to exceed the 305 km (190 mi) race distance mandated by the regulations.[1][5] Lap times in practice have been under one minute.[6] The only other World Championship Grand Prix weekend where sub-one minute lap times have been achieved is the 1974 French Grand Prix at Dijon-Prenois.[7][8]

McLaren driver Lando Norris likened the layout's high speed nature to the Thruxton circuit in the United Kingdom, whilst regular Williams driver George Russell said he expected the layout to be "bonkers".[9] Renault driver Daniel Ricciardo expressed his hope that the circuit would provide good overtaking opportunities, with Carlos Sainz Jr. of McLaren suggesting that choosing the correct setup, particularly downforce levels, would be difficult.[10]

Some drivers declared themselves unhappy with the circuit layout after driving it in the Friday free practice sessions with drivers such as Carlos Sainz Jr and Max Verstappen fearing potential safety issues during first and second knockout sessions in qualifying due to the high probability close proximity of cars track due to the short lap distance and sub minute duration and the potential huge discrepancies in closing speeds between cars particularly in the early parts of qualifying with Sainz saying the layout "was on the verge of being dangerous" and urged the FIA to take action.[11] Verstappen also described the layout as "not the most exciting"[12] while Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel called the layout "too short"[13] and his Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc said the circuit reminded him of his karting days.[14] Despite driver concerns of the exceptionally short laptime creating traffic problems in qualifying the FIA confirmed they would not relax the sport's rules on impeding during qualifying and that penalties would still be handed out to any driver found guilty of impeding a competitor.[15]

Entrants

Further information: 2020 Formula One World Championship § Entries

The drivers and teams were the same as the pre-season entry list with three exceptions:[16] debutant Pietro Fittipaldi replaced Romain Grosjean for Haas, after the latter's crash the week prior at the Bahrain Grand Prix.[17] World Champion Lewis Hamilton tested positive for the coronavirus during the week before the race and in accordance with Bahrain and FIA protocol was forced to miss the race.[18][19] This marked the first time that Hamilton did not take part in a Formula One race since his debut at the 2007 Australian Grand Prix.[20] Williams driver and Mercedes protégé George Russell replaced Hamilton. Jack Aitken, who is concurrently participating in Formula 2, replaced Russell at Williams, making his Formula One race debut.[21]

Tyres

See also: Formula One tyres

Sole tyre supplier Pirelli brought their C2, C3, and C4 compound tyres (the middle range of hardnesses) for teams to use in dry conditions.[22]

Practice

The first of two practice sessions took place on Friday in nighttime conditions and saw Russell top the timesheet for Mercedes ahead of both Red Bull drivers Max Verstappen and Alex Albon.[23] The second practice session took place on Friday night and also saw Russell fastest from Verstappen and Racing Point driver Sergio Pérez.[24] The third practice session took place on Saturday and saw Verstappen on top ahead of Bottas and AlphaTauri driver Pierre Gasly.[25]

Qualifying

Qualifying classification

Pos. No. Driver Constructor Qualifying times Final
grid
Q1 Q2 Q3
1 77 Finland Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 0:53.904 0:53.803 0:53.377 1
2 63 United Kingdom George Russell Mercedes 0:54.160 0:53.819 0:53.403 2
3 33 Netherlands Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing-Honda 0:54.037 0:53.647 0:53.433 3
4 16 Monaco Charles Leclerc Ferrari 0:54.249 0:53.825 0:53.613 4
5 11 Mexico Sergio Pérez Racing Point-BWT Mercedes 0:54.236 0:53.787 0:53.790 5
6 26 Russia Daniil Kvyat AlphaTauri-Honda 0:54.346 0:53.856 0:53.906 6
7 3 Australia Daniel Ricciardo Renault 0:54.388 0:53.871 0:53.957 7
8 55 Spain Carlos Sainz Jr. McLaren-Renault 0:54.450 0:53.818 0:54.010 8
9 10 France Pierre Gasly AlphaTauri-Honda 0:54.207 0:53.941 0:54.154 9
10 18 Canada Lance Stroll Racing Point-BWT Mercedes 0:54.595 0:53.840 0:54.200 10
11 31 France Esteban Ocon Renault 0:54.309 0:53.995 N/A 11
12 23 Thailand Alexander Albon Red Bull Racing-Honda 0:54.620 0:54.026 N/A 12
13 5 Germany Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 0:54.301 0:54.175 N/A 13
14 99 Italy Antonio Giovinazzi Alfa Romeo Racing-Ferrari 0:54.523 0:54.377 N/A 14
15 4 United Kingdom Lando Norris McLaren-Renault 0:54.194 0:54.693 N/A 191
16 20 Denmark Kevin Magnussen Haas-Ferrari 0:54.705 N/A N/A 15
17 6 Canada Nicholas Latifi Williams-Mercedes 0:54.796 N/A N/A 16
18 89 United Kingdom Jack Aitken Williams-Mercedes 0:54.892 N/A N/A 17
19 7 Finland Kimi Räikkönen Alfa Romeo Racing-Ferrari 0:54.963 N/A N/A 18
20 51 Brazil Pietro Fittipaldi Haas-Ferrari 0:55.426 N/A N/A 202
107% time: 0:57.677
Source:[26][27]
  • ^1 – Lando Norris was required to start from the back of the grid for exceeding his quota of power unit elements.[28]
  • ^2 – Pietro Fittipaldi was required to start from the back of the grid for exceeding his quota of power unit elements.[29] The penalty was unapplied as he started the race from the last position.[27]

Race

Race classification

Pos. No. Driver Constructor Laps Time/Retired Grid Points
1 11 Mexico Sergio Pérez Racing Point-BWT Mercedes 87 1:31:15.114 5 25
2 31 France Esteban Ocon Renault 87 +10.518 11 18
3 18 Canada Lance Stroll Racing Point-BWT Mercedes 87 +11.869 10 15
4 55 Spain Carlos Sainz Jr. McLaren-Renault 87 +12.580 8 12
5 3 Australia Daniel Ricciardo Renault 87 +13.330 7 10
6 23 Thailand Alexander Albon Red Bull Racing-Honda 87 +13.842 12 8
7 26 Russia Daniil Kvyat AlphaTauri-Honda 87 +14.534 6 6
8 77 Finland Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 87 +15.389 1 4
9 63 United Kingdom George Russell Mercedes 87 +18.556 2 31
10 4 United Kingdom Lando Norris McLaren-Renault 87 +19.541 19 1
11 10 France Pierre Gasly AlphaTauri-Honda 87 +20.527 9
12 5 Germany Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 87 +22.611 13
13 99 Italy Antonio Giovinazzi Alfa Romeo Racing-Ferrari 87 +24.111 14
14 7 Finland Kimi Räikkönen Alfa Romeo Racing-Ferrari 87 +26.153 18
15 20 Denmark Kevin Magnussen Haas-Ferrari 87 +32.370 15
16 89 United Kingdom Jack Aitken Williams-Mercedes 87 +33.674 17
17 51 Brazil Pietro Fittipaldi Haas-Ferrari 87 +36.858 20
Ret 6 Canada Nicholas Latifi Williams-Mercedes 52 Oil leak 16
Ret 33 Netherlands Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing-Honda 0 Accident 3
Ret 16 Monaco Charles Leclerc Ferrari 0 Collision 4
Fastest lap: United Kingdom George Russell (Mercedes) – 0:55.404 (lap 80)
Source:[27][30][31]
Notes
  • ^1 – Includes one point for fastest lap.

Championship standings after the race

  • Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.

Notes

  1. ^ The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic saw several Grands Prix cancelled or rescheduled. The revised calendar consisted of seventeen races.
  2. ^ The Grand Prix was held behind closed doors due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Bahrain.
  3. ^ Racing Point was deducted 15 points after a protest from Renault was upheld regarding the legality of their car.[32]

References

  1. ^ a b "Formula 1 Rolex Sakhir Grand Prix 2020". Formula1.com. Retrieved 19 November 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  2. ^ Galloway, James (25 August 2020). "F1 confirms final 2020 races with Turkey return and Bahrain double". Sky Sports. Retrieved 19 November 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  3. ^ Benson, Andrew (7 November 2020). "Bahrain GP: Spectators to be limited to frontline health workers". BBC Sport. Retrieved 19 November 2020.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  4. ^ "Sakhir". Statsf1.com. Retrieved 19 November 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  5. ^ "2020 Formula One Sporting Regulations" (PDF). Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile. 4 November 2020. p. 3. Retrieved 19 November 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  6. ^ Takle, Abhishek (4 December 2020). "Hamilton stand-in Russell sets practice pace on Mercedes debut". Reuters. Retrieved 5 December 2020.
  7. ^ "F1 to use Bahrain's 'outer track' for Sakhir Grand Prix, sub-60s laps expected". Formula1.com. 28 August 2020. Retrieved 19 November 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  8. ^ Cooper, Adam (28 August 2020). "The 46-year-old F1 record the Sakhir GP is set to smash". Autosport.com. Retrieved 19 November 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  9. ^ "Drivers prepare for Bahrain's "bonkers" F1 outer circuit". www.motorsport.com. Retrieved 30 November 2020.
  10. ^ "Drivers prepare for Bahrain's 'bonkers' F1 outer circuit". www.motorsport.com. Retrieved 30 November 2020.
  11. ^ Noble, Jonathan. "Sainz: Bahrain F1 outer loop circuit "on the limit of dangerous"". Autosport.com.
  12. ^ "Max Verstappen: Outer Circuit 'not the most exciting'". 4 December 2020.
  13. ^ "Sebastian Vettel brands Outer Circuit 'too short'". 4 December 2020.
  14. ^ "Charles Leclerc: Outer Circuit reminds me of karting days". 4 December 2020.
  15. ^ Cooper, Adam. "Masi: No leeway on impeding rules for F1 Sakhir Grand Prix". Autosport.com.
  16. ^ "2020 Sakhir Grand Prix – Entry List" (PDF). Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile. 3 December 2020. Retrieved 3 December 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  17. ^ "Haas reserve driver Pietro Fittipaldi to replace injured Grosjean for Sakhir Grand Prix". Formula1.com. 30 November 2020. Retrieved 30 November 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  18. ^ "Hamilton ruled out of Sakhir Grand Prix after testing positive for Covid-19". Formula One. Formula One World Championship Limited. 1 December 2020. Retrieved 1 December 2020.
  19. ^ Cooper, Adam (1 December 2020). "Hamilton to miss F1 Sakhir GP after testing positive for COVID-19". Autosport. Retrieved 1 December 2020.
  20. ^ Medland, Chris (2 December 2020). "TRENDING TOPICS: Hamilton's absence, Russell's big opportunity, F1 debutants & more talking points ahead of the Sakhir GP". Formula One Management. Retrieved 4 December 2020.
  21. ^ "George Russell to replace Hamilton at Mercedes for Sakhir Grand Prix". Formula1.com. 2 December 2020. Retrieved 2 December 2020.
  22. ^ "Tyre compound choices and set allocations for last seven Grands Prix of 2020". Pirelli. 9 September 2020. Retrieved 29 September 2020.
  23. ^ "FP1: Russell impresses with quickest time on first Mercedes outing as drivers get to grips with Bahrain's Outer Loop". Formula1.com. 4 December 2020. Retrieved 4 December 2020.
  24. ^ "FP2: Mercedes sub Russell beats Verstappen to complete clean sweep on Friday at Sakhir GP". Formula1.com. 4 December 2020. Retrieved 4 December 2020.
  25. ^ "FP3: Verstappen beats Bottas to top final Sakhir practice as Vettel's session ends early". Formula1.com. 5 December 2020. Retrieved 5 December 2020.
  26. ^ "Formula 1 Rolex Sakhir Grand Prix 2020 – Qualifying". Formula1.com. 5 December 2020. Retrieved 5 December 2020.
  27. ^ a b c "Formula 1 Rolex Sakhir Grand Prix 2020 – Starting Grid". Formula1.com. 5 December 2020. Retrieved 5 December 2020.
  28. ^ "Norris to start Sakhir GP from the back of the grid after power unit change penalty". Formula1.com. 6 December 2020. Retrieved 6 December 2020.
  29. ^ Adam Cooper (5 December 2020). "Fittipaldi set for back of grid start after PU penalties". Retrieved 5 December 2020.
  30. ^ "Formula 1 Rolex Sakhir Grand Prix 2020 – Race Result". Formula1.com. 6 December 2020. Retrieved 6 December 2020.
  31. ^ "Formula 1 Rolex Sakhir Grand Prix 2020 – Fastest Laps". Formula1.com. 6 December 2020. Retrieved 6 December 2020.
  32. ^ "Racing Point deducted 15 points and fined heavily as Renault protest into car legality upheld". formula1.com. 7 August 2020. Retrieved 7 August 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)

External links

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