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The 2025 season will head to Sakhir International Circuit to host the annual Bahrain Grand Prix this weekend. It has been a fascinating start to the season, with the first three races producing three different winners, two McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and the four-time F1 world champion Max Verstappen getting his first win in Japan.
Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton also won a Sprint on the board in China when he took his first P1 for the Italian team. Despite having four different winners in as many competitive races, McLaren looks like the fastest car on the current F1 grid.
The Woking-based outfit has taken two pole positions and as many wins thus far, and scored 111 points, 36 points more than Mercedes in P2 in the Constructors' Championship.
Trending
Heading into Bahrain, which hosted the pre-season testing at Sakhir International Circuit in late February, many teams will hope to get a clearer picture of their cars' performance for the remainder of the season.
However, unlike a couple of races in the 2025 season, the weather might now play a significant factor over the entire weekend. As per Weather.com, below is the weather forecast for the Bahrain Grand Prix:
Friday - FP1 and FP2
Forecast: Clear skies throughout the day
Temperature: 29C / 84F
Chance of precipitation: Less than 5%
Saturday - FP3 and Qualifying
Forecast: Clear skies in the day but some clouds for qualifying at night.
Temperature: 28C / 82F
Chance of precipitation: Less than 5%
Sunday - Race
Forecast: Clear weather for the main race
Highest temperature: 25C/ 77F
Chance of precipitation: Less than 5%
Haas F1 reveals its reserve driver ahead of the Bahrain Grand Prix
Haas F1 revealed that Ryo Hirakawa would be joining them as a reserve driver for the 2025 season and would take over duties in the FP1 session at the Bahrain Grand Prix this weekend.
Speaking with F1.com, team principal Ayao Komatsu said in a statement:
“It’s great to welcome Ryo to the MoneyGram Haas F1 Team and have his experience bolster our knowledge and understanding of the VF-25. His feedback was very detailed at the post-season test last year, so being able to provide Ryo valuable track time across four different circuits this year will help the entire team.
"As part of our collaboration with Toyota GAZOO Racing, it’s great to welcome new talent into the team – it’s a real pleasure to work with a racer of his driving acumen.”
Interestingly, Hirakawa was part of the Alpine reserve driver lineup ahead of the Bahrain Grand Prix and even drove for the French team in the FP1 session in Japan last weekend.
