3 April 2018
After the season kick-off in Melbourne, the Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team is heading to Bahrain for the 2nd round of the FIA Formula One World Championship and the follow week to China for the first back to back races of the season. In the Australian opening round, the C37 showed potential and the two Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team drivers are motivated to extract the maximum performance of the car, knowing that the Bahrain International Circuit features different characteristics.
Marcus Ericsson knows the track very well and he is confident for the race weekend. Charles Leclerc knows the circuit from competing there in Formula 2 and he has good memories on this track as last year he disputed one of the best races.
Marcus Ericsson (car number 9):
“Off to the first back-to-back of the year. Bahrain is a track that I know very well. I have been there a lot of times and enjoy driving on it. The track has different challenges to it, one being the sand surrounding it. Depending on the wind and weather conditions, this can become a defining factor. In the middle of the track, there is a very technical left hand corner which is one of the most difficult ones of the season. It also offers some good overtaking opportunities which I look forward to. After seeing our potential in Australia, we are going into round 2 feeling positive.”
Charles Leclerc (car number 16):
“After having participated in my first Formula 1 race in Australia, I look forward to going into my second round, as I will be familiar with all of the activities taking place at the track throughout the race weekend. I’m excited to go to Bahrain. I know the track from last year when I raced there in Formula 2, and have great memories. I had one of my best races there. The track is interesting. The temperatures are very high, which is very aggressive on the tyres. This creates interesting strategies due to the degradation that takes place. Let’s see what the next race will bring.”
Track facts:
The Bahrain Grand Prix is one of the three races held at night, starting at dusk. As the circuit is located in the desert, the surface is usually quite dusty for the first practice session and then gathers more grip during the weekend.
| Circuit | Bahrain International Circuit / 5.412 km |
| Race distance | 57 laps / 308.238 km |
| Schedule | Qualifying 18:00 hrs local time (17:00 hrs CET), Race 18:10 hrs local time (17:10 hrs CET) |
Tyre choices:
| Driver | Marcus Ericsson | Charles Leclerc |
| Medium | 3 | 2 |
| Soft | 3 | 4 |
| Supersoft | 7 | 7 |
Driver information:
| Marcus Ericsson | Charles Leclerc | |
| Born | 02.09.1990 / Kumla (SE) | 16.10.1997 / Monte Carlo (MC) |
| Height / Weight | 1,80 m / 70 kg | 1,80 m / 67 kg |
| First GP | Australia 2014 | Australia 2018 |
| GP started | 77 | 1 |
| Best race result | 8th Australia (2015) | 13th Australia (2018) |
| Best qualifying |
10th Malaysia (2015), 10th China (2015), 10th Italy (2015) |
18th Australia (2018) |
| Points 2018 | – | – |
|
Points in total |
9 | – |
Source: https://www.sauberf1team.com
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