Bahrain International Circuit
Bahrain Grand Prix
Is the Bahrain Grand Prix at Sakhir Good for Racing?
Yes, it’s one of the better tracks for it. Sakhir’s long straights end in heavy stops at Turn 1 and Turn 4, and F1 counted 66 overtakes there in 2024. Piastri’s pole lap on the right brakes eight times and drops to 67km/h at its slowest, which gives a chasing driver more braking zones to work with than Lusail.
Tire wear keeps the order moving too. Lando Norris went from sixth on the grid to third in 2025. The fight for the win was thinner, and Oscar Piastri controlled it from pole without a serious challenge.
Bahrain International Circuit
Strategy Factors
2025 Bahrain Grand Prix
What to Look Out for at Sakhir in 2027
Sakhir’s first Sprint weekend opens the 2027 season on March 12-14, so there are two starts to watch, and it’s the first Grand Prix here since April 2025. A green-flag stop costs 22.9s including 2.5s stationary, and F1’s pre-2025 numbers gave a 63% chance of a Safety Car.
Pole is 353m from the Turn 1 braking point, the best place on the lap to pass. The cars also work much better once the sun goes down, so judge pace on the evening sessions.
Pit stop time loss, Safety Car and VSC rates, pole to Turn 1 distance, overtakes and the Turn 10 and 11 notes.
Current circuit length, turn count and race lap record for the 2027 race at Sakhir.
Bahrain Grand Prix Tire Strategy at Sakhir
Every driver in the top ten stopped twice in 2025, even though Pirelli had brought the C1, C2 and C3 and thought the C2 could make a one-stop realistic. The chart also shows eight of them starting on softs.
A Safety Car on lap 31 decided the second stops, with seven of the top ten pitting straight after it. George Russell, Yuki Tsunoda and Oliver Bearman then ran softs for the last 25 laps, and Russell held second despite worries about those tires lasting. Ferrari ran medium, medium, hard with both cars and finished fourth and fifth.
Race account covering the lap 31 Safety Car, the two-stop strategies and Russell's soft tire finish.
Stint lengths and compounds for the 2025 top ten finishers shown in the tire strategy chart.
Bahrain International Circuit Sector by Sector and Corner by Corner
Speeds, gears and braking points below come from Oscar Piastri‘s 1:29.841 pole lap in 2025 qualifying, the last time F1 qualified at Sakhir before the 2026 race was canceled. He spent 60% of the lap at full throttle and 15.6 seconds on the brakes across eight braking zones. Top speed was 315 km/h on the pit straight, and the slowest point was 67 km/h at Turn 1.
FastF1 timing data for Oscar Piastri's 1:29.841 pole lap, used for the speeds, gears, braking points and sector figures
Brembo's 2025 Turn 1 figures for speed, deceleration and pedal load
Jon Noble on the recurring offs at Turn 10 in 2026 testing
Edd Straw on taking Turn 12 slower to harvest energy under the 2026 rules
The rough surface and high temperatures that put the tires under pressure
The cancellation of the 2026 race at Sakhir
History of Sakhir's Bahrain International Circuit
Sakhir has run F1 races on three different layouts since 2004, and it lost its 2026 date before a return set for March 2027.
First race winner, the 2010 Endurance layout, the 2011 cancellation, the 2014 night race and the 2026 cancellation.
Construction dates, Tilke's design, layout lengths, the Turn 1 renaming and the lap record.
History of the Grand Prix, Endurance, and Outer layouts used by F1 at Sakhir.
How Much Does the Bahrain International Circuit Cost?
There's no verified figure for what Sakhir cost to build before it opened in 2004. The bigger running cost is the hosting fee, which PlanetF1 estimates at about $53m for 2026, paid by Bahrain's government through the state-backed circuit. The contract runs to 2036. When the 2026 race moved to Sepang, Malaysia paid F1 no fee, and getting that track ready cost about RM40m ($9.8m), shared with Bahrain.
How Much Is the Bahrain Grand Prix Hosting Fee?
Neither F1 nor Bahrain has published it. PlanetF1 estimated the fee at $53m for 2026 and put the combined fees of Bahrain and Saudi Arabia at more than $100m a year. Malaysia's Business Today quoted a higher estimate of $70m-80m in July 2026, in a report on the race's move to Sepang. Bahrain's government covers the fee through the circuit, and the contract runs to 2036. PlanetF1 also estimated that losing both Gulf races in 2026 would cut F1's race promoter income to about $971m, from $1.04bn in 2025. Malaysia's prime minister Anwar Ibrahim said his country paid F1 no fee for the one-off race at Sepang.
The $53m fee estimate for 2026, the combined Gulf fees above $100m, the contract to 2036 and the promoter income estimates
The $70m-80m fee estimate, the Bahrain government covering the fee and the RM40m Sepang preparation cost
Anwar Ibrahim saying Malaysia paid F1 no fee for the Sepang race
The move of the 2026 Bahrain Grand Prix to Sepang
How Much Are Bahrain Grand Prix Tickets at Sakhir?
At 2027 prices, the cheapest ticket is a weekend seat in the Victory Grandstand at £189 ($250), because the UK agency list has no general admission. Turn 1 costs £330 ($437), and the Main Grandstand opposite the pits tops the range at £449 ($595). Hospitality starts at $1,157 for three days in the Dome, an older price reference. The $250 entry price is close to Spa's $245, well above Qatar's $165 and a little over half of Abu Dhabi's $462.
Sakhir and Bahrain Grand Prix Questions
The 2027 Bahrain Grand Prix is back at Sakhir on March 12-14, 2027. The race at Sepang on October 2-4, 2026 is a one-off called the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia, added after the March 2026 race at Sakhir was canceled. Sakhir’s records and history stay separate from Sepang’s.
Sakhir switched to night racing in 2014, when the tenth Bahrain Grand Prix was held under floodlights to mark the anniversary. The nine races before it, starting in 2004, ran in daylight. Every edition since 2014 has been a night race, including Oscar Piastri’s win from pole in 2025.
The Grand Prix layout at Sakhir is 5.412km with 15 corners, while the Outer circuit is 3.543km and cuts out the infield. F1 used the Outer loop once, for the second of two Bahrain events in 2020, so its results and lap records are kept apart from the usual Grand Prix figures.
Pedro de la Rosa holds the Sakhir race lap record with a 1:31.447 for McLaren in 2005, and it’s survived more than 20 years of rule changes. Oscar Piastri’s fastest lap in 2025 was a 1:35.140. The Endurance and Outer layouts have their own records, which don’t count here.
Yes, the 2027 Bahrain Grand Prix at Sakhir is a Sprint weekend, the first the circuit has hosted. Because it’s the opening round, on March 12-14, the season’s first Sprint will be run here. Its results will sit apart from Sakhir’s Grand Prix records, which go back to 2004.
Bahrain pays an estimated $53m a year to host its Grand Prix, based on PlanetF1’s figure for 2026, although neither F1 nor Bahrain has confirmed it. The government covers the fee through the state-backed Bahrain International Circuit, and the contract runs to 2036. Malaysian media have quoted a higher estimate of $70m-80m.
No. Prime minister Anwar Ibrahim said Malaysia paid F1 no fee for the one-off Bahrain Grand Prix at Sepang on October 2-4, 2026. Getting the circuit ready cost about RM40m ($9.8m), shared between Sepang and Bahrain, and Sepang’s chief executive said Bahrain’s government had fully covered the hosting fee.
