Last year, Bahrain saw a great battle between the two Mercedes teammates. After being beaten by Hamilton last race in China, Rosberg will be determined to be victorious this time. However, last year it was Hamilton who triumphed after a brilliant fight between them. But this year Ferrari may also be a part of the fight, which will certainly add to the action.
The race will be a night race again, as it was last year, and we hope to see another great battle between the frontrunners for the victory. But, will Ferrari or Mercedes come out on top?
Mercedes
Hamilton will certainly be confident going into this weekend, having beaten Rosberg in every race so far this season. He also won the race here last year, after the brilliant battle between the two Mercedes drivers. But this year it may turn out differently, Ferrari are certainly putting the pressure on Mercedes. They have shown their car does perform better than the Ferrari so will be hoping to be safe from a challenge from behind but nothing is certain.
Ferrari
Last weekend Ferrari got a great result with Vettel 3rd and Raikkonen 4th, although they are hoping to beat Mercedes again, it does look unlikely. Instead, it is likely that the two drivers will be fighting for 3rd position between each other which could prove to be a great battle between 2 world champions. With Raikkonen without a podium finish since 2013, he will be determined to beat his teammate to the end.
Williams
Not fast enough to keep up with Mercedes and Ferrari yet ahead of Red Bull and Toro Rosso, we’ve seen very little of Williams the last few races as they have been in the middle of two battles. It will probably be a similar story in Bahrain, finishing in strong, points scoring positions yet unable to challenge for podiums. Massa has won here twice, so Bahrain is a circuit where he’s enjoyed success at in the past.
Red Bull
Struggling yet again in China, Red Bull have had a difficult start to the season. It is unlikely that they will be able to do much better this weekend as Shanghai circuit shares a lot in common with Sakhir. Ricciardo has been strong here in the past so we may see a good result from him.
Toro Rosso
A disappointing race last weekend for the team, with both drivers failing to score due to technical problems with the car. Hopefully they will be able to fight for points this race without any issues. Sainz had driven this circuit before but Verstappen hasn’t driven the grand prix circuit, only the karting circuit. This will certainly add an extra challenge to his weekend.
McLaren
A big improvement for McLaren last weekend, with both drivers making it to the end. With reliability improved, they may be able to begin focusing on improving the competitiveness of their car and overall performance.
Force India
A hard race for Force India in China saw Hulkenberg retire and Perez miss out on points in 11th. This will hopefully change in Bahrain and they hope to score points this weekend. Last year Perez finished on the podium, an exciting result for the team, although this seems very unlikely to happen again.
Sauber
A big improvement this year for Sauber has seem them able to challenge for strong positions. Although unable to compete with Mercedes, Ferrari and Williams they are able to challenge for lower points and are currently ahead of Red Bull in the championship.
Lotus
The team scored their first points of the season in China, with Grosjean finishing the race in 7th. They will be hoping to score points again this weekend, at a track which Grosjean had had good results at in the past. Maldonado has had a tough start to the season, being involved in collisions in every race and is yet to finish a race so far.
Manor Marussia
Both drivers managed to finish the race in Shanghai and, like McLaren, they will be looking to close the gap between them and the rest of the field. Despite improving every weekend, they are still a long way back and are unlikely to have impressive results this weekend.