F1 News

russell on cold temperatures in bahrain

Bad news for Mercedes: Cooler temperatures in Bahrain

2 March at 12:30
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  • Matt Gretton
  • Editor-in-Chief

Normally it is hot in Bahrain, only this weekend it is not. In fact, it is a lot cooler than normal for the Bahrain Grand Prix. This could play a big role during the race for Mercedes.

One weather element that always plays a big role in Bahrain is the wind. This is partly because the circuit is located in a large open plain. It seems on Saturday, the wind will have less of an impact on the performance of the Formula 1 cars. "I do think it will be slightly less windy tomorrow," Max Verstappen said ahead of the race.

Colder temperatures in Bahrain are a problem for Mercedes

Bahrain is a lot cooler than normal at the moment. Mercedes driver George Russell is worried about these temperatures. "It's uncharacteristically cold here in Bahrain at the moment. I think tomorrow it's going to be about 16 degrees. By the time we go to the race, we're normally talking 30s or mid-30s here in Bahrain. So there's a lot of unexpected things to come. The soft tyres performing well around this circuit in the race. Maybe people will do two sets of a soft, two sets of a hard, a medium. But it's the first race of the season. And I think we're all just excited to get going."

For Mercedes in particular, these temperatures seem like a bad omen. "We historically have always struggled when temperatures have been a little bit cooler. And that was always the case last year. But we know that with this W15 car, it's a totally different beast of a car that we're much happier with. And probably the lessons we've learned over the last two years, we need to put aside and go on with a totally open mind. So time will tell when we go to the future races," Russell said.