A Look Back

A record-breaking race day crowd of 36,000 fans—the highest-ever single-day attendance at the Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix—cheered on as Max Verstappen claimed his first-ever victory at Bahrain International Circuit to open the 2023 F1 season.
“The Home of Motorsport in the Middle East” welcomed the massive turnout, with 99,500 attending over the three-day F1 weekend. Over 10,000 of race-goers were international fans who had travelled to the Kingdom for the event, which was also the most ever.
Verstappen started from pole and made the most of the clear air ahead of him, taking his two-stop strategy to a fine victory ahead of teammate Sergio Perez for a sensational Red Bull one-two.
Fernando Alonso, the two-time F1 world champion and three-time winner at BIC, joined them on the podium in his maiden grand prix with Aston Martin.
Verstappen triumphed in a total race time of one hour 33 minutes 56.736 seconds after 57 laps, enjoying a comfortable gap of 11.987 seconds ahead of Perez at the chequered flag.
The challenge of the Ferrari pair of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz faded as the race entered its closing stages. They had started alongside one another on row two, but Leclerc, the 2022 winner at BIC, was forced to retire on lap 39 after stopping on the track, while Sainz gave up his potential place on the podium to Alonso on lap 45.
Alonso capped a fantastic weekend finishing 38.637s from Verstappen for third.
Sainz was classified fourth, while seven-time F1 world champion and Bahrain record-holder with five wins in Sakhir, Lewis Hamilton, was fifth for Mercedes.
Lance Stroll marked his impressive comeback from a pre-season injury by taking sixth for Aston Martin, while George Russell in the other Mercedes followed in seventh, and Valtteri Bottas of Alfa Romeo was eighth.
Completing the top 10 and the race’s points-scorers were Pierre Gasly of Alpine in ninth, who had a superb result after starting from 20th on the grid, and Williams’s Alexander Albon taking tenth.

Charles Leclerc made sporting history at the Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix 2022 as he became the first man to win a race in F1’s “new era”.
A record number of fans flocked to Bahrain International Circuit to witness the start of the much-awaited campaign, with a race day attendance of 35,000—the highest ever for the Bahrain Grand Prix.
In a race weekend which also saw BIC’s highest-ever Friday attendance and biggest number of international fans, the festival atmosphere was uplifted as Leclerc took a thrilling victory under the Sakhir night sky.
The Monegasque driver was the brightest star racing under BIC’s lights in the once-in-a-generation event as he led teammate Carlos Sainz to a spectacular one-two for Ferrari.
The desert sky was brilliantly lit with a stunning fireworks display as Leclerc crossed the finish line to claim the third victory of his F1 career and first in Bahrain.
Leclerc and Sainz were joined on the podium by seven-time drivers’ world champion Lewis Hamilton for constructors’ title-holders Mercedes.
Reigning world champion Max Verstappen was engaged in an epic battle with Leclerc for a majority of the race, but on lap 55 was forced to retire with a steering issue. Teammate Sergio Perez also had to prematurely call it a night after experiencing a power issue in his car and stopped on track in the final lap.

The Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix 2021 provided a rip-roaring start to the year’s FIA Formula 1 World Championship.
Defending seven-time drivers’ world champion Lewis Hamilton claimed a thrilling victory in a spectacular race held under lights.
Hamilton brilliantly defended his lead late in the 56-lap event from pole-sitter and chief rival Max Verstappen of Red Bull Racing, who made a late push for the win.
Verstappen was able to power ahead with two laps to go but had to give the advantage back to Hamilton after going off the track on his overtaking move.
From there, Hamilton made no mistake in maintaining his position all the way to the chequered flag, which he took in a winning time of one hour 32 minutes 03.897 seconds.
Verstappen was classified as the runner-up just 0.745 seconds behind, while Valtteri Bottas claimed third place a distant 37.383s from his teammate to put both Mercedes contenders on the podium.
Bottas also posted the race’s fastest lap of 1:32.090 around BIC’s 5.412-kilometre Grand Prix track.
With the world still recovering from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, a total of 4,500 vaccinated and COVID-19 recovered fans were able to witness the spectacle of F1 live in Sakhir.
The Grand Prix marked four major F1 events completed in the span of just four months—a major success story for Team Bahrain.

In a year which won’t be forgotten for so many reasons, Bahrain had the honour of hosting a double-header of races on consecutive weekends at BIC, much later in the year than usual, as the global pandemic forced numerous calendar changes.
In the first race, Seven-time F1 world champion won a drama-filled race at a brilliantly floodlit BIC, crossing the finish line under safety car conditions, with the Red Bull pair of Max Verstappen and Alexander Albon joining Hamilton on the podium.
The race was dominated by several major incidents on track, two of which took place without even a lap being completed. The first involved Romain Grosjean, who crashed his Haas into the barrier just moments after the start, resulting in an immediate red flag. Few will forget that dramatic footage on him emerging from his car, in what would turn out to be his last race in F1. Following medical treatment, all involved in F1 were delighted to see him back at the circuit a couple of days later.
Following over an hour’s delay, the race was re-started but then Lance Stroll’s Racing Point challenger flipped over, forcing a brief safety car period. When racing resumed after Stroll’s flip, Hamilton put in another masterful drive to continue his magnificent winning run this F1 season. He was able to build a massive gap from the rest of the field en route to the finish, but following car trouble for Perez, the yellow flag came out and it was a crawl to the end behind the safety car.
The very next week, F1 returned for the Sakhir Grand Prix, this time on the outer track, which had never been used for major racing before. In Lewis Hamilton’s absence, Racing Point’s Sergio Perez drove to a dramatic victory after 87 hotly contested laps, with Renault’s Esteban Ocon and Racing Point teammate Lance Stroll second and third. Perez started from fifth on the grid but had a disastrous first lap after getting involved in a turn-four incident that led to the retirements of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc. Perez was forced to pit but then did masterfully to battle back towards the front, where he was hunting down the Mercedes pair of George Russell and pole-sitter Valtteri Bottas. Perez inherited the lead when Russell and Bottas were called in for fresh tyres, but the team made some uncharacteristic mistakes and botched both pit stops, likely costing them a dream one-two.
BIC had the honour of welcoming over 5,000 of Bahrain’s frontline medical heroes and first responders as special guests for both races.

The Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix 2019 was an epic weekend of top-class motorsport and entertainment – the kind only Bahrain International Circuit can deliver. A huge crowd of 97,000 fans attended the event, including 34,000 on Race Day alone.

The Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix 2019 was an epic weekend of top-class motorsport and entertainment.

Marking race no. 999 in Formula 1’s history, it was also the 15th anniversary of the Bahrain event, with world class entertainment off track headlined by global superstar DJs Martin Garrix on Friday night and Kygo on Saturday night.

In another epic Bahrain night race, Lewis Hamilton claimed a stunning victory as he led teammate Valtteri Bottas to a Mercedes one-two.

They took advantage of a nightmare race for top rivals Ferrari, whose pole-sitter and race leader Charles Leclerc suddenly suffered engine trouble with 10 laps to go. Leclerc led for most of the 57 laps but limped to the finish under safety car conditions, salvaging a first podium of his Formula 1 career.

Despite the heartbreak, a star was born in Bahrain as Leclerc had won over his rivals and fans over the weekend.

Overall, it was a spectacular Bahrain Grand Prix with 'Limitless' memories on and off the track.

VETTEL TRIUMPHS IN BAHRAIN GP THRILLER AT BIC

Sebastian Vettel powered Ferrari to a sensational victory in a drama-filled Formula 1 2018 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix, held under the bright lights of Bahrain International Circuit (BIC) on April 8, 2018.

“The Home of Motorsport in the Middle East” enjoyed another spectacular year in hosting Formula 1. The Grand Prix generated record Paddock Club and Corporate Lounge sales, with the Paddock Club sales up 15% compared to the previous year.

The total attendance on Race Day remained a spectacular 33,000, same as in 2017.But total crowed over the three-day race weekend improved to 95,000 from the 93,000 last year.

Vettel overcame a threatening challenge from Valtteri Bottas of Mercedes who tried to chase him down and steal the chequered flag late on. But Vettel was able to hold on to the slightest of advantages despite a slower car over the race’s last few laps.

The German eventually won by just 0.699 seconds. He completed the 57-lap sprint after starting from pole in a total race time of 1 hour 32 minutes 01.940 seconds, taking the chequered flag as a brilliant display of fireworks lit up the desert sky.

RACE

Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel roared to a brilliant victory in the 2017 Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix.

Bahrain International Circuit once again provided the perfect setting for a sizzling motorsport spectacle, as a record crowd of 33,000 – and 93,000 in all for the weekend – enjoyed Formula 1 action at its finest.

After splitting the first two races of the season with Mercedes’s Lewis Hamilton, Vettel was eager to strike back and it was the star pair once again battling in the end for all the glory. This time it was the scarlet red of Ferrari taking the chequered flag as a brilliant series of fireworks lit up the night sky above Sakhir.

The German gained the lead from pole-sitter Valtteri Bottas during a safety car period early on in the race. At the re-start, he managed to stave off his rival and eventually built a comfortable advantage of over 10 seconds from the rest of the pack.

Vettel crossed the finish line with a winning time of one hour 33 minutes 53.374 seconds. Hamilton, who had been given a five-second time penalty for impeding Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo in the pit lane, had cut the gap to 6.660seconds by the end. Bottas had to settle for the final podium place 20.397s back in third.

RACE

Nico Rosberg claimed his first-ever victory in the Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix at a brilliantly floodlit Bahrain International Circuit on Sunday, April 3, 2016.

Rosberg put in a dominant drive as he claimed his second successive victory to start the. He charged off the start line cleanly and immediately took over as the leader before enjoying a flawless and untroubled race from then on.

The win was Rosberg’s fifth in a row dating back to the final three races of last season and including Australia at the start of this championship.

Ferrari’s Kimi Rakkonen finished fourth 22.475s from his teammate. He was followed by Red Bull Racing’s Daniel Ricciardo (+39.346s) in fifth and Williams’s Felipe Massa (+54.326s) in sixth. Force India’s Sergio Perez (+62.606s) wasseventh and Haas’s Romain Grosjean (+74.865s) rounded out the top eight. Nico Hulkenberg of Renault and Perez’s teammate Esteban Ocon were the last two to claim points.

Classified 11th to 14th were Pascal Wehrlein of Sauber, Daniil Kvyat of Toro Rosso, Jolyon Palmer of Renault and Fernando Alonso of McLaren.

Not classified were Sauber’s Marcus Ericsson, Toro Rosso’s Carlos Sainz, Williams’s Lance Stroll, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, Haas’s Kevin Magnussen and McLaren’s Stoffel Vandoorne.