Pirelli: Hembery, “In Bahrain you need a lot of traction, which is why we decided to bring the medium and soft tires here”

Pirelli and the Teams know the Sakhir circuit well, having carried out the two 2014 pre-season test sessions here. However, to celebrate its 10th anniversary, for the first time in the circuit's history the race will start at 6pm: that is, it will begin at sunset and end at night; a bit like what happens at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

This will have an important effect on the behavior of the P Zero White medium and P Zero Yellow soft, chosen for the race. Ambient and circuit temperatures will drop considerably during the race – with a possible drop of 15 degrees; phenomenon that can alter the performance and degradation of the tires. Racing at night in Bahrain is an unknown, which is why the preparation work that the teams will carry out in free practice will be fundamental.

Paul Hembery, Pirelli Motorsport Director: “Two recent tests took place in Bahrain, thanks to which we accumulated a lot of information on the nature of this circuit. We know you need a lot of traction, so we decided to bring the medium and soft tires here.

At the start of the race the temperatures will be quite high, but we know that they will drop considerably as the sun goes down: temperatures can drop by up to 15 degrees.

Managing the tires well with these temperature changes will be one of the most important challenges for the Teams. This could also influence strategies; so it will be a very interesting race from this point of view.

Jean Alesi, Pirelli technical commentator: “I know the Bahrain circuit well. I ran not a Formula One race there, but a Speedcar race, a series similar to the American NASCAR. It's a nice circuit where you need to immediately get into the right rhythm to make the most of the tyres, especially in the traction areas, where you need to not put too much stress on the tyres.

The asphalt is very abrasive but also quite smooth, even if racing at night will be a completely different matter. It is important to keep the degradation under control, but, once again, everything will change as the sun goes down. Managing the tires will therefore be fundamental."