Bahrain Grand Prix

Bahrain Grand Prix

The Bahrain Grand Prix is a Formula One Championship race in Bahrain. The first race took place at the Bahrain International Circuit on 4 April 2004. It made history as the first Formula One Grand Prix to be held in the Middle East. The 2011 Grand Prix was cancelled on 21 February due to the 2011 Bahraini protests.

About Bahrain Grand Prix in brief

Summary Bahrain Grand PrixThe Bahrain Grand Prix is a Formula One Championship race in Bahrain. The first race took place at the Bahrain International Circuit on 4 April 2004. It made history as the first Formula One Grand Prix to be held in the Middle East. The race has usually been the third race of the Formula One calendar. The 2011 Grand Prix was cancelled on 21 February due to the 2011 Bahraini protests after drivers including Damon Hill and Mark Webber had protested. Human rights activists called for a cancellation of the 2012 race due to reports of human rights abuses committed by the Bahraini authorities. In 2014, the race was held as a night event under floodlights. It became the second Formula One night race after the Singapore Grand Prix in 2008. Subsequent races have also been night races. The 2010 race saw a new circuit configuration being used for the Grand Prix. It used the \”Endurance Circuit\” layout, extending the lap length to 6. 299 km. The new track turns left shortly after Turn 4, the right-hander at the top of the hill following the first sequence of turns. There is then a sequence of five turns before the cars head back to the original circuit.

In 2007 and 2008, Brazilian Felipe Massa won the race for Ferrari. 2009 saw Jenson Button win for Brawn GP. After his 2010 triumph, Fernando Alonso became the first three-time winner. The first corner of the track was renamed after seven-time champion German driver Michael Schumacher in honour of his achievements and also in support after he suffered an almost fatal skiing accident late December 2013. The track would have reverted to its original layout for the 2011 race, and did so for the 2012race. On 3 June, FIA decided to reschedule the race on 30 October. It was announced that the race scheduled for 13 March was cancelled due to the 2011Bahraini protests. On 9 April 2012, an unnamed member of one of the teams said that his views were that Formula One teams were not happy with Bahrain’s human rights record. That includes the killing of activist Salah Abbas Habib during a demonstration during the earlier Grand Prix, as well as the fatal shooting of photojournalist Ahmed Ismael al-Samadi, who was covering the race.