Turn One will remain the biggest braking zone and therefore the best overtaking opportunity. But with teams likely to run slightly less downforce due to the change in track layout, braking into here is going to be a little more tricky than last weekend. Drivers will compromise the exit of Turn One, taking a tighter line so they can take Turn Two flat. Again, less downforce will make it harder to be flat through here. Drivers may end up taking more kerb on exit, but carrying maximum speed down the long run from Turn Two to Turn Four is crucial.

Drivers are going to have to change their approach to Turn Four. They won’t run out as wide on exit as they did last weekend, and they will carry a lower minimum speed through the corner because it flows straight into Turn Five – this is where they venture onto the ‘new’ layout. The grip level will be an unknown because it’s not used a lot and it’s likely to be very dusty. It’s not completely uncharted territory for F1 though, as in 2010 we raced on the ‘endurance circuit’ which included this part of the track. Turn Five will be close to full throttle, so Turn Four is another instance where drivers will compromise the exit a little to carry as much speed as possible through the next corner. 

The approach to Turn Seven is probably the most difficult part of the lap because you’re still turning right through Turn Six when you need to start braking for the left-hander. You’re going to see a lot of drivers lock up here, especially early in the weekend, and shifting brake bias rearwards will help to prevent front locking. Turn Eight is all about getting a good exit because you’re flat out from there, through Turn Nine, all the way until Turn 10. It’s actually a little bit blind mid-corner, making it quite hard to see where the outside of the track is and, because you to want to carry as much speed out of here as possible, I think track limits on the exit of Turn Eight could be a big talking point.

On the high-speed run to Turn 10, you re-join the track used for the Bahrain Grand Prix at Turn Nine. This weekend, drivers will approach Turn 10 a lot quicker and therefore the braking zone is going to be longer. This makes it more of an overtaking opportunity. This corner feeds into Turn 11, which is just a slight kink that tightens up the exit of Turn 10. Coupled with a change in wind direction, this corner can really can catch drivers out.

With only four braking zones this is quite a simple a track, but fewer corners means less opportunity to find time so the pressure is on to perfect every single one of them. Lap times will be less than a minute which means the field is going to be incredibly close. Qualifying will be determined by very fine margins, so extracting the absolute maximum out of the car is essential and picking up a tow down the long straights could make a real difference.