Bahrain International Circuit
Sakhir, Bahrain · On the current calendar
Formula 1's first desert race — a heavy-braking, rear-limited lap run under floodlights.
Circuit layout
Race historyFormula 1's first desert race — a heavy-braking, rear-limited lap run under floodlights.
Circuit
- Circuit
- Bahrain International Circuit
- Location
- Sakhir, Bahrain
- Length
- 5.412 km
- Corners
- 15
- Race laps
- 57
- Race distance
- 308 km
- First GP
- 2004
- Opened
- 2002
- Grands Prix
- 22
Last winner here
Lap record
About Bahrain International Circuit
Bahrain hosted the first Formula 1 Grand Prix in the Middle East in 2004 and has been a fixture ever since, moving to a floodlit evening slot in 2014. Built in the desert at Sakhir, it is defined by a rough, abrasive surface and three heavy braking zones that make it one of the hardest circuits of the year on rear tyres.
Traction is the central problem. Turns one, four, eight, ten, eleven and fourteen all demand acceleration from low speed onto a surface with limited grip, and the combination of high track temperature during the day and a sharp drop after sunset means the car that is quickest in the afternoon is rarely the quickest in the race. Teams plan the entire weekend around that transition.
The circuit's familiarity is unusual. Bahrain has hosted pre-season testing for most of the past decade, so teams arrive with more data on this lap than almost any other — which tends to make the opening race of the season a fair read on the competitive order.
Notable facts
- Hosted the first Formula 1 Grand Prix in the Middle East, in 2004.
- Became a night race in 2014 to mark the tenth anniversary of the event.
- The 2010 race used a longer 6.299 km 'endurance' layout, the only time it has been run.
- Regularly hosts pre-season testing, so teams arrive with more data here than for any other round.
Grands Prix by decade
22 races, every decade from the 2000s to the 2020s.
Most wins — drivers
Most wins — constructors
Every Formula 1 winner at Bahrain International Circuit
22 World Championship Grands Prix have been held here between 2004 and 2025.
