The Sakhir Grand Prix 2020 was the 16th round of the 2020 F1 season, and took place at the Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir, Bahrain, on December 6th.
Sergio Pérez won the race after starting in the 5th position, followed by Esteban Ocon, and Lance Stroll completing the podium.
Valtteri Bottas started from the pole position, but only managed to finish 8th.
Final results
Race evolution
Pit Stops
There were a total of 39 pit stops during the race.
The most popular pit stop windows were:
- Laps 26-29: 7 stops
- Laps 53-55: 10 stops
- Laps 62-63: 7 stops
The fastest pit stop was Alexander Albon's, stopping the clock at 23.645 seconds during his pit stop on lap 62, while the slowest one was was Valtteri Bottas's, who stopped the clock at 52.874 seconds, 29.229 seconds slower than Albon, during his pit stop also on lap 62.
These times include the time the driver spent going through the pit lane, as well as the actual time he stopped for the mechanics to work on his car.
Strategy
The race was not obvious in terms of pit stop strategy, with different teams and different drivers choosing to make anywhere from 1 to 4 stops.
The race winner, Sergio Pérez, was on a 2 stops strategy.
1 stop
-
2Nicholas Latifi
-
9Esteban Ocon
-
7Lance Stroll
2 stops
-
4Sergio Pérez
-
9Lando Norris
-
-Kevin Magnussen
-
1Antonio Giovinazzi
-
1Daniil Kvyat
-
4Carlos Sainz
-
2Pierre Gasly
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2Daniel Ricciardo
-
6Alexander Albon
-
7Valtteri Bottas
3 stops
-
4Kimi Räikkönen
-
1Sebastian Vettel
-
3Pietro Fittipaldi
-
1Jack Aitken
4 stops
-
7George Russell
Excluding those drivers who could not finish the race, those on a 1 stop strategy gained 8 positions on average, the ones on a 2 stops strategy gained 1.6 positions on average, the ones on a 3 stops strategy gained 2.25 positions on average, while those on a 4 stops strategy lost an average of 7 positions.
This difference in possitions gained, together with a deeper nalaysis of each strategy, reinforces the conclusion that a 1 stop strategy was the best option, even if Sergio Pérez managed to win the race making 2 stops.
It is important to note that this might not always be the case for other races held at the Bahrain International Circuit, as the conditions might change from year to year, in terms of wheel degradation, accidents, safety cars, etc.
Incidents
There race went on mostly with no incidents. Only 3 divers were involved in circumstances that were severe enough to prevented them from finishing the race.
These included, Nicholas Latifi, who suffered an engine malfunction on lap 52, Max Verstappen, who had to retire due to an accident on lap 0, and Charles Leclerc, who retired dure to damage caused by a collision with other cars on lap 0.
Engine
-
Nicholas LatifiLap 52
Accident
-
Max VerstappenLap 0
Collision
-
Charles LeclercLap 0
Qualifying
Valtteri Bottas managed to get the pole position by 0.026 seconds and a final lipe time of 0:53.377. George Russell was right behind him, helping Mercedes score a one-two and monopolize the first line of the grid.
Track evolution
As the qualifying session went on, with the track rubbering in, and the drivers testing the limits of the grip of their cars, the times per lap dropped, and 14 out of the 15 drivers that took place in Q2 were able to improve their times.
The Q3 is the time were all the remaining drivers put all their cards on the table, even those with a superior car who might have been managing their times in Q1 and Q2 push their cars to the limit in Q3. It therefore comes as no surprise that 4 out of the 10 drivers that took place in Q3 were able to improve their times.