Some statistics for Saturday's season-opening Bahrain Formula One Grand Prix at the Sakhir circuit:
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Lap distance: 5.412km. Total distance: 308.238km (57 laps)
2023 winner: Max Verstappen (Netherlands) Red Bull
2023 pole: Verstappen, one minute 29.708 seconds
2023 fastest race lap: Guanyu Zhou (China) Alfa Romeo 1:33.996.
Lap record: 1:31.447 seconds, Pedro de la Rosa (Spain), McLaren 2005.
Start time: 1500 GMT (1800 local)
The stage is set. 💫#BahrainGP 🇧🇭 pic.twitter.com/AeOlMEXY6j
— McLaren (@McLarenF1) February 26, 2024
BAHRAIN
The race, on the site of a former camel farm in the desert south of the capital Manama, is marking its 20th edition after starting in 2004 as the first grand prix in the Middle East.
It was not held in 2011 due to social unrest and there were two races at the track in 2020 when Formula One was racing during the Covid pandemic.
The track offers one of the most abrasive surfaces of the season and tyre degradation is high.
Lewis Hamilton is the most successful driver at the race with five wins at Sakhir, all with Mercedes. Fernando Alonso has won three times.
Ferrari have won the Bahrain GP seven times.
Red Bull's Sergio Perez took his first F1 win, in his 190th start, at the circuit in 2020 (Sakhir Grand Prix) while with Racing Point (now Aston Martin).
George Russell made his Mercedes debut at the track in 2020, standing in for Hamilton.
CHAMPIONSHIP LEAD
Verstappen has led the championship for a record 39 successive races dating back to Spain in May 2022.
RACE WINS
Seven times world champion Lewis Hamilton has a record 103 career victories from 332 starts but is chasing his first since 2021 – a run of 45 races without a win.
Red Bull won 21 of 22 races last year, with Verstappen victorious in a record 19, and have won 31 of the last 33.
POLE POSITION
Hamilton has a record 104 career poles, his most recent in Hungary last year.
PODIUMS
Verstappen set a record of 21 podiums in a season last year but Michael Schumacher remains the only driver to have stood on the podium in every race of a season (2002).
OPENER
Last year's race was the first time Verstappen had won a season-opener.
Both Bulls locked out the front row and finished 1-2 in Bahrain last season! 🏁 pic.twitter.com/iJwjL7HBXE
— Oracle Red Bull Racing (@redbullracing) February 27, 2024
It will be the first time the Bahrain race has been held on a Saturday.
MILESTONE
One more race win will lift Red Bull level with Williams at equal fourth in the all-time list of winners on 114.