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Circuit

Bahrain International Circuit

Sakhir, Bahrain

The Bahrain International Circuit is a desert track defined by its braking zones. Several hard stops reward strong traction and stable brakes, and the abrasive surface works the tyres hard over a race distance, so managing rear grip becomes a central theme. Run at night under floodlights, the cooler air adds another variable to how the tyres behave, and looking after them over a long stint often decides the race.

Located at Sakhir, it is a familiar proving ground where cars are tested and understood, in part because its demands on braking and tyre wear reveal a car's true balance. The floodlit desert setting gives the race a distinctive look and a genuine test of composure under load.

The gap, in metres

2025 Qualifying here. Each driver’s time gap converted to the distance it actually puts them behind at racing speed.

#DriverGapDistance
1Oscar Piastrireference
2George Russell+0.16814.7 m
3Charles Leclerc+0.33429.1 m
4Kimi Antonelli+0.37232.4 m
5Pierre Gasly+0.37532.7 m
6Lando Norris+0.42637.2 m
7Max Verstappen+0.58250.8 m
8Carlos Sainz+0.83973.2 m
9Lewis Hamilton+0.93181.2 m
10Jack Doohan+1.404122.5 m

Across the full field, Oscar Piastri to Oliver Bearman covers 220.8 m.

See the full 2025 Qualifying drawn to scale

On the radio here

2,105 messages recorded at this circuit, 2018 to 2025.

Every session drawn to scale

The radio archive, season by season