Bahrain Grand Prix 2016 Preview: Start Time, TV Info, Weather, Schedule, Odds

With one round down and 20 to go, Formula One heads to the Middle East for its first night race of the year. The 2016 Bahrain Grand Prix will be the third to be held under floodlights, with the race starting minutes after sunset.

The sport arrives in Bahrain on the back of one of the most exciting season-opening races in recent years. Nico Rosberg's victory in Australia gave him the world championship lead for the first time since 2014, and he'll be hoping to secure his first-ever victory at Sakhir on Sunday.

Rosberg's team-mate Lewis Hamilton, second in Melbourne, is seeking his third Bahrain victory, as is Sebastian Vettel of Ferrari. But the most successful driver in the Gulf state, Fernando Alonso, has been ruled out of the race weekend by doctors following his crash in Australia, as reported by the official Formula One website. McLaren reserve driver Stoffel Vandoorne will make his grand prix debut in the Spaniard's absence. 

The new tyre allocation rules—giving the teams a choice of three compounds at each race weekend instead of two—proved a runaway success at the Australian Grand Prix.

Unfortunately, the elimination qualifying format—another new-for-2016 regulation—was a dismal, monumental and excruciating failure. But despite all the teams wanting to see the back of it, we'll have to endure it again on Saturday.

It would appear the "drivers' union," the GPDA, was right to call the sport's decision-making process "ill-structured and obsolete."

Read on for a full preview of the race weekend including TV times, current championship standings, a circuit map and guide, tyre and DRS information, weather forecast, odds and session times.

Nico Rosberg heads the drivers' championship for the first time since 2014 after winning the season-opening race. Lewis Hamilton makes it a Mercedes one-two at the top of the table, and Sebastian Vettel is in his usual position—third.

The top 10 drivers are:

In the constructors' championship, Mercedes have an early lead they're unlikely to ever lose. Ferrari are second, just ahead of Williams and Red Bull.

The current standings are:

Data sourced from the official F1 website.

The Bahrain International Circuit lies in the southern half of the island state, close to its western coast. The surrounding land is generally flat, sandy desert, though the circuit itself features some noticeable elevation changes.

The track was the second of Hermann Tilke's from-scratch designs to host a grand prix, and it features all of the German architect's hallmarks. There's a very long straight with a hairpin at the end, a mixture of low-, medium- and high-speed corners and huge swathes of tarmac run-off.

The result is a circuit that lacks character and very rarely punishes mistakes, but the layout itself is one of Tilke's best. The first sector is especially good for close racing and overtaking, while the middle of the lap features a number of interesting corners.

Turns 1, 2 and 3

A lap begins on the long pit straight with a fairly long run down to the first corner. On a hot lap, the drivers reach speeds in excess of 330 kilometres an hour before braking hard just before the 100-metre board.

In no time at all, they've slowed to less than 70 kilometres an hour to negotiate the tight, right-hand hairpin of Turn 1. This corner, the best overtaking spot on the track, is named after Michael Schumacher—the only turn on the circuit with more than just a number.

The drivers drift to the outside of the circuit at the exit before cutting across for the best line through the left-hand kink of Turn 2, feathering the throttle as they go. As soon as they're through they encounter Turn 3, a flat-out right-hander, and speed out onto an uphill straight.

Turn 4

The track climbs and the cars accelerate through the gears, hitting around 300 kilometres an hour before slowing for the tricky, medium-speed right of Turn 4.

This is the only corner of the BIC that lies above sea level, and if a car got out of shape defending through the opening sequence of corners, it'll almost certainly come under attack again here.

The drivers take an early apex and blend the throttle back in as the circuit curves round gently through the exit then begins to head downhill.

Turns 5, 6 and 7

Turn 5 is a fast, left-hand kink taken at full-throttle. As soon as they hit the apex, the drivers lift off and brake gently for the slightly slower, longer right of Turn 6.

The track drops away more steeply at the exit, and the drivers have a split-second to floor the accelerator before the tiniest of lifts for the quick, left-hand Turn 7.

Turns 8, 9 and 10

A very short straight sends the cars toward Turn 8. The downhill braking zone makes this slow, right-hand hairpin that little bit more difficult, and it's best to avoid taking too much kerb at the exit for the best possible acceleration as the track heads briefly uphill.

As the surface levels out, the drivers attack one of the most awkward corner pairs on the F1 calendar. First up is the very tricky, downhill left-hander of Turn 9, which sees the drivers braking and steering at the same time as they bleed off the speed for the very tight left-hander of Turn 10.

If you appreciate the sight of a locked front-left tyre, this is the corner for you.

A medium-length straight follows.

Turns 11, 12 and 13

The straight presents an overtaking opportunity of sorts, but passing is only usually possible when the car ahead got an extremely poor exit out of Turn 10.

With the benefit of DRS, the cars hit speeds of around 310 kilometres an hour before braking for Turn 11, a medium-speed left-hander. The corner opens out at the exit and eventually leads uphill and into Turn 12—a long right, taken with only the briefest lift off the throttle.

The drivers straighten their cars out as the track levels off for the braking zone of right-hand Turn 13. This is a fairly innocuous-looking corner, but care must be taken to get a good exit because it leads out onto the circuit's second-longest straight.

Turns 14 and 15

The track heads uphill briefly before beginning to descend as the cars exceed 300 kilometres an hour for the fourth time in the lap. The brakes are applied close to the 100-metre board, slowing the cars to around 120 kilometres an hour for the deceptively tight right-hander of Turn 14.

Once beyond the apex, the drivers pick up the throttle as quickly as they dare and head out onto the pit straight in the direction of the finish line.

Turn 15 is the barely-there kink at the exit of Turn 14—it doesn't really need a number, but perhaps Tilke was paid by the corner?

Pit Lane

The pit lane entry is on the drivers' right-hand side a few hundred metres after Turn 15, and the exit is on the same side just before Turn 1.

Slide Image: Creative Commons.

The Bahrain International Circuit's location in the desert presents a special hazard for the tyres—sand. The organisers do what they can to keep the racing surface clear, but some of the grainy stuff inevitably finds its way onto the track; this has the potential to adversely affect grip levels.

Sand aside, Pirelli's pre-race preview noted the circuit has an abrasive, grippy surface that leads to relatively rapid tyre wear. The high number of slow corners and acceleration zones make the BIC a rear-limited track—the lifespan of each set of tyres is primarily determined by wear to the rears, not the fronts.

As the race takes place at night, track temperatures drop away over the course of the grand prix, and different tyre compounds—all of which have their own preferred operating temperature range—may work better at different stages of the race.

New Tyre System

The tyre supply rules have changed for 2016.

Three compounds are now available for each race weekend, with each driver given a partially free choice of which they will use—a decision they must make well in advance. The official F1 website has a video and text guide.

For Bahrain, the red-marked supersoft, yellow-marked soft and white-marked medium compound tyres will be available—the same selection seen in Australia. Per Pirelli, most of the drivers have opted for more of supersoft tyres, with the soft the second-most-favoured tyre.

DRS Zones

There will be two DRS zones at the Bahrain Grand Prix, running from separate detection points.

The first zone will have its detection point at the entry to Turn 9, with the zone itself located on the "back straight" between Turns 10 and 11.

The second, longer zone will have its detection point 108 metres before the apex of Turn 14. The activation point will be on the pit straight, 270 metres after the final corner, and the DRS zone will end with braking for Turn 1.

Bahrain has a hot desert climate with high temperatures all year round, peaking in the summer months, and precipitation is rare. The average April daytime high is a shade below 30 degrees Celsius, and the month sees an average of one centimetre of rainfall.

The forecast for the weekend ahead is quite typical of the island nation, but the remnants of a weather front that passed by during the week—as Red Bull's tweet reveals, it rained on Monday—will have a small impact on Friday. Cloudy skies and relatively cool temperatures will greet the teams for practice.

Saturday and Sunday will be warmer, though temperatures will remain below the long-term April average. The thermometers will be hovering at around 22 degrees Celsius when the sun goes down and the racing gets under way, with air temperatures expected to be no lower than 19 degrees by the time the chequered flag falls.

BBC Weather will have the latest, but don't expect anything to change.

The bookies have Lewis Hamilton as the favourite to win, a position he has occupied at every grand prix since the start of 2014. Nico Rosberg is in his usual second spot, with Sebastian Vettel established as third-favourite.

The top 10 favourites are:

Selected Others

The expansive run-off areas make it very difficult for a driver to hit a tyre wall and have a big accident; as a result, the safety car is rarely seen in Bahrain. The bookies go 13-8 it makes an appearance, and 8-15 it doesn't.

Looking at the battle at the rear end of the top 10, McLaren's Jenson Button is around 13-8 to score points. His main rivals look like being the Force Indias, Toro Rossos and Daniil Kvyat—all of whom are priced between 1-2 and 8-15.

And after Kvyat's Red Bull failed to even make it onto the grid in Australia, the Russian is 20-1 to be the first retirement in Bahrain. Rio Haryanto, who didn't reach the chequered flag in Melbourne, is favourite at 11-1.

All odds sourced from Oddschecker.com and correct at the time of publication.

As always, the Bahrain Grand Prix weekend will consist of three free practice sessions, qualifying and the race.

The session times are as follows:

All times given are in Bahrain local time (AST, UTC+3). The official Formula One website has a useful tool on its homepage to convert them to your own time zone.

TV Times

In the United Kingdom, live coverage of all sessions will be provided by Sky Sports F1 and Channel 4. The programming times are as follows (all times BST):

In the United States, live coverage is provided by the NBC network on NBCSN, CNBC and NBC Sports Live Extra (SLE). The times are as follows (all times EDT):

Enjoy the weekend!

Follow me on Twitter for occasional updates on new articles and thoughts about the F1 world, or if you have any questions or comments.

@NeilJamesF1