Formula 1’s contingency plans for the start of the 2021 season include the potential return of a second Bahrain race on the Outer circuit.
F1 has already revised its 23-race schedule because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, with Australia losing its slot as the season opener and Bahrain kicking off the season instead.
The second round is due to take place at Imola on April 18, with Portugal’s Algarve circuit widely tipped to fill the ‘TBC’ slot two weeks later.
However, F1 has considered alternative options should any race not be able to be held as planned, and travel restrictions and national rules around COVID-19 mean F1 may need to make use of the idea of Bahrain hosting a double-header again.
Last year three locations held two races to bolster the schedule while F1 was trying to limit its movement between countries: Austria, Britain, and Bahrain.
The second Bahrain race was held on the short Outer circuit, which would be an option for F1 to turn to should the start of the season require further adjustment.
The Race understands the Bahrain International Circuit has, like last year, indicated it would be willing to assist F1 if required although there has been no formal request for a second Grand Prix yet.
Adapting to the Outer circuit had small logistical challenges last year, partly due to the even later start time and the need for lighting at normally unused parts of the circuit.
However with that experience and the fact that the equipment would be in the same place, the BIC could adapt to F1’s needs at short notice.
F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali insisted last month that F1 was preparing for a 23-race season and was hopeful that all the grands prix would be held as planned, but said it had ideas for how to react if anything changed.
“We have possible alternatives, but so far no one has given us different information to what we shared,” Domenicali told Sky Sports F1.
“There’s no reason to lie. There’s no reason to say something that is not right and correct.
“This is what we know today, but we know how the pandemic evolved so we need to be ready for a flexible approach on the season.”
Should F1 opt for a second Bahrain race, Imola would then likely move back one week to give teams more time to relocate from the Middle-East.
In the presumed absence of a Portuguese race, shifting Imola to April 25 would still allow it to run as a standalone race, with the Spanish Grand Prix next up on May 9.
F1 has not committed to this idea as it awaits further information on the COVID situation in Portugal.
The Algarve race was not announced as part of the revised 2021 schedule a few weeks ago because the country went into a national lockdown at the same time.
However, it was indicated in national media that organisers were hopeful that lockdown would lead to the fall in COVID cases required to host the event.
A decision is expected this month, as that would firm up the first few weeks of the season prior to F1 travelling to Bahrain for pre-season testing in mid-March.
The Race Says
The possibility of F1 reviving the Bahrain Outer circuit is a fun one. It’s worth stressing at this time that it’s just an idea and it’s hard to guess which way F1 is really leaning.
Last year’s Sakhir Grand Prix on the Outer circuit was one of the best of the year. It had the novelty of a 53-second pole lap without any of the expected qualifying traffic chaos, race laptimes were well under a minute, and the race itself was dramatic.
George Russell starred as Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes stand-in and Sergio Perez was eventually a shock winner, recovering from a first-lap clash to take advantage of a Mercedes pitstop horror show and claim his first F1 victory.
However, the events of the grand prix could have happened on the full Sakhir track. It would be misleading to think that the Outer circuit would create a repeat of its 2020 race.
What it would do is avoid a copy of the 2021 Bahrain GP. If F1 has to resort to double-headers again, then like last year it’s important they get mixed up in some way.
The last thing anyone needs as the coronavirus pandemic impacts a second season is a case of déjà vu.
